Harry Potter and the Feathery Bird (The 8th Book)
by Shaklemadora
Summary: With Voldemort gone, the adventures are over. Right? Not! This story begins right after the Battle of Hogwarts and takes our characters through the end of the 7th year. It is based on canon, true to the original, thrilling, romantic, and very funny. The opening of Chapter 1 mostly recaps the end of Book 7, and then the story picks up speed fast. (Chapters are added regularly.)
1. Chapter 1 - The Boy Who Snogged

A/N: Except for a couple of OCs these characters are JK Rowling's, not mine.

* * *

Harry awoke the next morning with a start, a bright light shining in his eyes. Where was he? For a moment, he was so disoriented he couldn't remember. Was he camping in the tent on a quest for Horcruxes? Was he at 4 Privet Drive? Was he alone at King's Cross neither dead nor alive? He reached for his glasses and quickly put them on. As his eyes adjusted to the light, and his mind adjusted to being awake, he realized that he was waking up in his four poster in the boy's dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. Ron was next to him sitting cross legged on his own four poster, holding something in his hand and pushing on it repeatedly.

Harry closed his eyes as, all of a sudden, the memories of yesterday, the longest day of his life, flooded into Harry's mind. His first thought was, "Voldemort is dead!"

"I can't believe it," Harry thought. "When I woke up yesterday morning, Voldemort had two Horcruxes left. Wait, he had three Horcuxes left. Ravenclaw's goblet, Nagini, and me. I was a Horcrux also. But I didn't know I was a Horcrux when I woke up. But I was one even though I didn't know it. So it counts. So when I woke up yesterday, there were still three Horcruxes left. And now, one day later, all of the Horcruxes are destroyed and Voldemort is dead. Unbelievable. Wow! I really accomplished a lot yesterday. It sure pays to be an early riser. If I had slept till, say, noon, instead of waking up at the crack of dawn, I probably wouldn't have had time to put an end to Voldemort. Yup, the early bird sure catches the worm."

When Harry finished thinking about how much he had accomplished the previous day, it suddenly dawned on him. "Holy mackerel! Voldemort is actually dead," he thought.

Since soon after he had first learned that he was a wizard when he was 11 years old, Harry had known that Voldemort was his mortal enemy. Since he learned about the prophecy when he was 15 years old, Harry had known that one day one of them would kill the other. It felt as if Voldemort had always been part of Harry's life. And now. Finally. Voldemort was actually dead. And Harry was alive.

Yesterday, Harry had died. Or almost died. For a few minutes he thought he had been dead. He had gone to the Forbidden Forest to die. But today, he was alive. For a second, Harry had a feeling of total freedom like a gigantic weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Then he remembered how cool he had been the previous night. Right at the end. How he had figured out that he was the true owner of the Elder Wand, and how he had slowly revealed it to Voldemort. The whole complicated story about how Draco had taken it from Dumbledore and Harry had defeated Draco, and how the whole Severus Snape-defeating-Dumbledore-thing had been fake because Dumbledore really wanted Snape to kill him, and how Voldemort had been fooled by the whole thing.

Then Harry remembered the coolest thing of all. How, in the end, he never did the killing curse on Voldemort. Harry really hated to attack people. He much preferred disarming spells like "Expelliarmus" to attacking spells. He had done the Sectum Sempra curse once on Draco when he was terrified, and Harry had been miserable about it ever since. Harry had wondered for years what would happen when he had his final battle with Voldemort. Because he really, really, really didn't want to do a killing curse. He wondered whether he was going to have to point his wand at Voldemort and say 'Avada Kadavra'. So the fact that Voldemort ended up having his own killing curse backfire, and that Harry didn't even have to attack him to finish him off, was a really cool way for the whole thing to end. Plus Harry had looked so cool in front of everyone, destroying the Dark Lord once and for all without even really attacking him. Plus, he had kind of toyed with Voldemort, like a cat playing with a mouse before eating it for dinner, letting it slowly dawn on Voldemort that Harry was the true master of the Elder Wand that Voldemort had worked so hard to find. All in all, Harry thought, he had had a pretty good day.

And then Harry remembered the rest. All the people who had died the previous day. Fifty people had died in the final battle with the Death Eaters! The thought was staggering. Tonks and Lupin were both gone. All of a sudden, Harry was so sad.

And then he remembered the Resurrection Stone. How his mother and father and Sirius and Remus had come back and accompanied him through the Forbidden Forest. He remembered how good it had felt having them all walk with him. And he started to feel a drop better for a second.

And then he thought of Snape. When he thought of Snape, Harry's head felt like it was spinning. First, he had hated Snape for years because he thought Snape was just plain mean. Then, he had trusted him for a while when he found out Snape was in the Order. Then he had hated him again during those torturous occlumency lessons. But for the last year, after Snape had killed Dumbledore, after Harry realized that Snape was really a Death Eater, an ally of the Dark Lord who had killed Harry's parents, Harry had hated Snape more than anything. And now, after hating Snape so much for so long, he had just found out the previous night that Snape had always been loyal to Dumbledore. That Snape had tried to save Harry's mother's life. That Snape had been working against Voldemort since Harry was a baby. Now he realized why Dumbledore had trusted Snape so completely when nobody else did. Because Dumbledore had known Snape's secret. The secret no one else knew. That Snape had loved Lily Potter, Harry's mother.

Now Harry's head was really spinning. The thought of Severus Snape being in love with Lily Potter was almost more than Harry could imagine. He didn't know what to feel. He didn't hate Snape anymore. He didn't exactly like him either. He kind of felt sorry for him. And he was grateful to him. And he had respect for him. Snape had worked so hard for so long to secretly protect Harry and help him and Dumbledore in the war against the Voldemort. Harry didn't really know what to think. It was all just so weird. Harry's head was spinning.

And then he remembered Fred! How could Fred Weasley be dead? Fred and George were a pair. They were always together. Fred always made everything funnier and happier. No matter how dark things got, Fred's sense of humor always cheered everyone up a little. All of a sudden Harry was really sad.

He opened his eyes again and saw Ron still sitting on his four poster pushing buttons on whatever he was holding in his hand. Harry quickly closed his eyes again pretending to be asleep. He didn't know what to say to Ron. What do you say to your best friend who just lost his brother? And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had lost their son. Poor Mrs. Weasley! Her family was her whole life. And all of Ron's brothers had lost their brother. He remembered Percy. How Percy had come back to them at the end to fight in the great battle. And now his brother was dead. And then he thought of….Ginny.

Now Harry's head was spinning even more. He remembered telling Ginny to wait in the Room of Requirement where she would be safe, knowing that Ginny never would stay there. Ginny had come out to fight in the great battle along with everyone else. He remembered how she was when he first met her. He had been 11, she had been ten. She had been so shy; she couldn't even speak when he was in the room. Things had changed over the years. She had been little and shy. But now she had become so brave and…so beautiful. Harry remembered the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts. He remembered those few weeks before Dumbledore had died, before Harry had learned that he needed to go on a quest to destroy the Horcruxes, before he had told Ginny that he couldn't be her boyfriend in order to protect her. Those few weeks with Ginny seemed like they were so long ago. But now, he thought, things were different. Voldemort was dead. His head kept on spinning.

Harry opened his eyes again. "Why was the light so bright," he thought. Then he realized it was because he had slept so late. It was already late in the morning.

"Oh well," he thought. "I was an early riser yesterday. Today I deserved a little extra sleep."

He sat up in his bed. Ron looked up and said, "Blimey. I thought you were going to sleep all day. I've been waiting for you to wake up for hours."

"Sorry I slept so late. I'm a little bit tired. I kind of had a big day yesterday. It kind of takes a lot out of a guy, you know, killing Voldemort and pretty much dying myself," Harry said sarcastically.

When Harry said "dying" while looking at Ron, he thought of Fred again. And he knew Ron was thinking about him also. Harry wasn't sure what to say.

"Sorry about Fred, mate," was all Harry could think of saying.

"Thanks," said Ron.

Harry didn't know what to say next. They had been through so much together. And now the world was different than they had ever known it. It was better and worse than it had ever been. The war with Voldemort was over. They were all safe now. For the first time since Harry could remember, he had nothing to be scared of. But they had paid a terrible price. They had lost so many people that they loved. He remembered Mad Eye and Sirius. And everyone else. And poor Hedwig. There was so much to talk about, but Harry wasn't sure how to start. If Fred had been there, he would have broken the silence by making a joke. But…

All of a sudden, Harry noticed again the thing in Ron's hand that he had been pushing over and over again. "What's that thing you keep pushing?" asked Harry.

"Oh this," said Ron. "It's called Brickbreaker."

"What?"

"Wizard Brickbreaker. Fred and George gave it to me for Christmas. They sell it in their store. Well, I mean, they sold it in their store. Well, I mean they sold it in their store, and now, I guess, George still sells it in his store. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Harry. "But what is it?"

"It's a game. You need to keep knocking this little ball with this paddle, and try to destroy all the bricks. You start off with three lives, but you can get more if you destroy special bricks."

"Sounds like fun," said Harry.

They stared at each other. He knew Ron and he were thinking the same thing. More lives. Three lives. Seven lives. Horcruxes. It was hard for them to just have a normal conversation, because everything reminded them of what they had just been through.

"Come on, let's get out of here," said Ron, jumping up and pulling on his robes. "I am totally starved. I've been waiting for you to wake up for hours so we could eat some breakfast. I sure hope there's something left."

"I'm sure there will be some food for us," replied Harry. "Remember, I'm a hero," he said with a smile.

"Right. And I'm the hero's best mate."

"You're a hero yourself, mate. You got the sword, and destroyed a Horcrux. And you actually figured out how to speak Parseltongue. I can't believe you did that. I don't even really know how to speak Parseltongue. With me, it just happens by itself. I can't make myself do it. But you did. You actually figured out how to speak Parseltongue enough to open the Chamber of Secrets. That was absolutely amazing."

Ron smiled, looking a little embarrassed. He really was kind of proud of himself.

"Wait a second, I just realized something," said Harry.

"What?"

"I only knew how to speak Parseltongue because I was a Horcrux. It was because a little bit of Voldemort's soul was inside me. But now that Voldemort destroyed it, I'll bet I'm not a Parselmouth anymore. I probably won't be able to talk to snakes anymore. Do you realize you're actually the only one of us who can talk to snakes?"

"Maybe I can teach you and Hermione to speak a little," said Ron sniggering. The thought of Ron teaching Harry to speak Parseltongue was kind of funny.

All of a sudden, Ron thought of Hermione. Yesterday had been a big day for the two of them also. For months Hermione had basically ignored him, still mad because he had left her and Harry during their Horcrux quest. She was really slow to forgive him. But yesterday he had said something nice about elves and the next thing he knew she was snogging him.

"Women," Ron thought. "I'll never understand them." "Come on, let's go find…everyone." Harry knew he was thinking about Hermione.

Together they went down the winding staircase. The Gryffindor common room was empty, so they headed for the Great Hall. When they arrived at the Great Hall, everyone was there. The mood was kind of mixed. People weren't exactly celebrating. Everyone had lost someone they loved the day before, and people were walking around the room talking to other people, consoling them. Harry heard lots of people saying to other people, "Sorry about so and so." But the mood wasn't exactly sad, either. Yesterday had been a great victory. Voldemort was dead. The Death Eaters were in Azkaban. The Carrows were gone. Professor McGonagall was in charge of Hogwarts. The reign of terror was over at last. Everyone was free of fear. The mood in the room was pretty good.

All of a sudden, Harry noticed something. The Hogwarts house elves were walking around the Great Hall wearing red uniforms. That was strange. All he had ever seen them wearing before was rags. He looked closer. Each elf was wearing a little badge. On the badge was the elf's name and job responsibility. One elf was wearing a badge that said, "Kitchen Worker." Another elf was wearing a badge that said, "Dormitory Cleaner." Another elf was wearing a badge that said "Classroom Organizer."

Just then, Hermione, who had been chatting with Arthur Weasley on the other side of the Great Hall, saw Ron and Harry, and came running over. "Hi guys," she said to Ron and Harry.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a second, feeling a bit awkward, not knowing what to do. They hugged each other for a second. Then Hermione looked at Harry, and gave him a little hug also.

"What's with the elves?" asked Harry.

Hermione's face lit up with excitement. "It's amazing! It's totally amazing!" exclaimed Hermione. "You won't believe it!"

"Won't believe what?" asked Ron.

"It's so amazing. It's the coolest thing. It's the culmination of all of my work. S.P.E.W. was a success after all."

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"I'm so excited I can hardly talk," exclaimed Hermione breathlessly. "I can't believe it! After all of my work. All of the little clothes I made and hid around the castle. All of the lectures I gave everyone about elf rights. All of the people who laughed at me, and said I was silly."

"You can't believe WHAT? Tell us already," exclaimed Ron.

"Last night, Professor _McGonagall_ was appointed the official Headmistress of Hogwarts. And guess what her first act was as headmistress. She freed all of the Hogwarts house elves. She told me to come with her and watch. It was so cool. She marched right down to the kitchens and said, 'Hogwarts House elves, I have an important announcement to make.' Then she waved her wand and all of these uniforms appeared. She said, 'There's one for each of you. Look for the one with your name. These clothes are for you. You are all hereby free elves.'"

"What did they do?" asked Harry.

"At first they didn't do anything. Remember, house elves don't want to be free. At least they don't know they want to. Or they think they don't. You know what I mean. The thought of being free is very hard for them. But I think something changed last night when they participated in the great battle against the Death Eaters. I think it helped build up their spirits. It gave them more courage. Anyway, for what seemed like a long time, they just stared at McGonagall. Then, one of them said, 'Let's do it!' And the next thing you know, they're all running over and rummaging through the uniforms, and they each find the one with their name on it, and they get rid of the rags and put on their uniforms. They got so excited, seeing their names on the badges. They were like little kids. They'd say things like, 'I got Kitchen Worker. What did you get?'

"Then there was a little problem. McGonagall said, 'Okay, Hogwarts elves. We need to talk about your salaries.' And one of the elves said, 'Okay. We think you should pay us zero.' McGonagall groaned. So they had a little negotiation. McGonagall suggested 20 galleons a week, and the elves suggested 2 galleons. They went back and forth. McGonagall wanted to pay them more. They wanted to get less. Finally, they agreed on 15 galleons a week.

"So then they talked about vacation time. McGonagall proposed that they get four weeks of vacation a year. One of the elves responded, 'How about if we get zero vacation.' All the other elves agreed and yelled, 'Yeah! That sounds great. Zero vacation!' McGonagall groaned again. Finally, they agreed on three weeks of vacation a year.

"They all want to stay and work at Hogwarts. They're going to get their own rooms with beds and everything."

Harry and Ron watched Hermione who was more excited than they had ever seen her. They just grinned and didn't say anything.

"What are you guys smiling about?" she asked.

They just kept on grinning.

"This is truly amazing," said Harry.

"Unbelievable," said Ron.

"The culmination of your life's work, and you're only 17," said Harry.

"You guys are making fun of me," said Hermione, starting to scowl.

"No, we're just teasing," said Ron. "It is pretty amazing. You really made a difference. I'm proud of you."

Now Hermione was beaming.

"Don't you all go and start snogging now," said Harry. "We haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

All of a sudden Harry noticed Kreacher standing all by himself looking glum. Kreacher was still wearing his rags. Harry caught his eye, and Kreacher quickly looked away.

"What's with Kreacher?" asked Harry. "Why is he still wearing rags?"

Hermione just stared at Harry waiting for him to figure it out. All of a sudden, Harry realized. Kreacher wasn't a Hogwarts house elf. As headmistress, McGonagall could set the others free, but Kreacher belonged to….Harry. Only he could set Kreacher free.

Harry ran across the room to Kreacher, who looked up at him, and started bowing. "Good morning, master. Did you sleep well, master? You did an amazing thing yesterday, master. Are you hungry, master? Can Kreacher bring you some breakfast, master?"

Harry looked around. All he was wearing was his robe. Ron and Hermione came running up. Harry looked at them. They were just wearing robes also. He looked all around. He wanted to do this fast. It didn't seem fair for Kreacher to remain a slave for even another second. Finally, he thought of something. He remembered how he had freed Dobby almost five years earlier. Harry pulled out his wand and cried,"Accio a pair of my socks." Harry thought again, and waved his wand, adding: "Make it a clean pair of socks this time."

Harry looked at the door to the Great Hall waiting for a pair of socks to come flying through the door. Nothing happened. Harry had a puzzled expression on his face. Then Hermione reminded him: "Harry, we didn't go to Hogwarts this year. Remember? None of our things are here. You don't have any clothes up in Gryffindor Tower."

Harry looked at Neville, who had come over to see what was happening a few moments earlier when he had seen Harry running across the room. "Neville, do you mind?" Harry asked.

"I'd be honored," Neville answered.

"Okay, then," said Harry raising his wand again. "Accio a pair of Neville Longbottom's clean socks."

A moment later, a pair of Neville's socks came flying into the great hall landing gently in Harry's hand. Harry reached out and handed them to Kreacher, and said solemnly: "Kreacher, I present to you these clothes. You are a free elf."

Kreacher burst out crying and starting screaming, "Thank you, master. Thank you, master. Thank you, master."

"I'm not your master anymore. Just call me Harry."

"Okay, mast… Harry'."

"So Kreacher, now that you're a free elf, what are you going to do?" asked Ron.

There was a long pause. Kreacher had been a slave for so long, it was hard for him to think. He had hated his master Sirius. He had loved his master Harry. But he had always had a master. He had no idea what a free elf was supposed to do.

Hermione's eyes brightened. "Wait here a second," she said. Hermione ran across the Great Hall to do something while the others waited.

"Neville, you were amazing last night," said Harry.

Neville smiled a little sheepishly. He knew how brave he had been, but he didn't want to seem too cocky. "Yeah, I had a moment there," he said. "But did you see my gram!" he exclaimed. "She was amazing. A witch her age dueling with three death eaters at the same time! And beating them!"

"You do have one cool gram," said Ron.

All of a sudden, Hermione came running back to the group, her bushy hair flying behind her and a big smile on her face. "Kreacher," she said. "When Dobby became a free elf…"

As she mentioned Dobby, Hermione got choked up and stopped talking. She just remembered that Dobby had died saving her life. Everyone else remembered Dobby too, and they all got very quiet. Everyone was so happy that the war with Voldemort was finally over, but they also kept remembering all the people who had died along the way, all the suffering Voldemort had caused. They also realized that this was going to keep happening, that as much as they felt joy because their future was looking hopeful, that they would also never forget all the terrible things that had happened before.

"I guess we're all having what they call double dip feelings," said Ron.

Hermione stared at Ron, a look of disbelief on her face.

"What are you staring at me for?" he asked.

"This is the first time I ever heard you use the word 'feelings,'" she said with a laugh. "I didn't think you even knew what the word meant."

"I don't think he really does," laughed Harry. "I think he just saw a book called Double Dip Feelings in the library once. And he remembered the title because Double Dip reminded him of ice cream, and he's always hungry."

"If you guys are done making fun of me," said Ron with a pretend frown, "someone's waiting."

They all looked at Kreacher, who was staring at Hermione with his eyes wide and his mouth open, waiting for her to finish.

"Right," said Hermione. "Anyway, as I was saying. When Dobby became a free elf, he got a job working at Hogwarts. How would you like to work at Hogwarts also?"

"Really?" cried Kreacher. "Could Kreacher do that? That would be great! Kreacher would love to do that! What could Kreacher do? What would Kreacher's job be? Kitchen Worker? Classroom Organizer? Dormitory Cleaner?"

"That's the best part," said Hermione. "I just spoke to Professor McGonagall about you. I explained how smart you were, and how you helped in the war against Voldemort. So she decided to give you a special job. It's a new job they've never had before at Hogwarts. You are going to be 'Headmistress's Elf.' That means you get to work directly for the headmistress and do special assignments for her. How does that sound?"

"Really?!" cried Kreacher.

"Yup."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hermione! Kreacher will never be able to thank Hermione enough."

"You deserve it, Kreacher," said Ron.

"If you want the job," said Hermione, "go over to Professor McGonagall and tell her."

So Kreacher ran across the room to where McGonagall was having a conversation with some of the seventh years. "So, what do you think, Kreacher?" she asked. "Do you want to be the "Headmistress's Elf?"

"Kreacher accepts!" shouted Kreacher.

"Okay, then we need to talk about your salary," said McGonagall.

"Okay. Kreacher has an idea," said Kreacher. "Pay Kreacher zero galleons."

McGonagall laughed. "How about if we pay you 20 galleons a week?" she said.

"That's way too much," said Kreacher. "How about one galleon per month?"

McGonagall laughed again. "This is a most unusual negotiation," she said in her high pitched voice. "Listen, Kreacher. We are not going to negotiate any more. We are going to pay you 15 galleons a week and give you three weeks of vacation a year. That is our final offer. Take it or leave it!"

"Yes, mistress. Okay, mistress. Kreacher accepts, mistress."

"Please just call me "Professor," said McGonagall with a sigh. She waved her wand, and all of a sudden Kreacher was dressed in his own little red uniform. On his chest was a shiny badge that said "Kreacher" and underneath it was written "Headmistress's Elf."

Kreacher looked down at his uniform and his badge. He was so happy he looked like he was about to burst. Finally he could stand still no longer and leapt up into the air flying close to the ceiling of the Great Hall and then flipping over ten times on the way down, landing softly on his feet in front of McGonagall. Then he saluted her and said, "At your service, Headmistress. What should Kreacher do first?"

"Today is a day of celebration," she said. "Go have some fun." And she turned on her heels and walked away.

Kreacher just stood staring at McGonagall, frozen. He had a strange expression on his face. "Kreacher, what's the matter?" asked Harry.

"Maste… er…Harry. Professor McGonagall just ordered Kreacher to have...fun. But… Kreacher…." Kreacher stopped in the middle of his sentence, looking very upset.

Hermione walked over to him and put an arm around him. "Poor Kreacher. You don't know how to have fun, do you? You've never had fun before."

Kreacher burst out crying, and started to wail: "Hermione put her arm around Kreacher. Hermione comforted Kreacher. Nobody ever comforted Kreacher before."

All of a sudden, Luna, who had walked over a few minutes earlier and joined the group, said: "Come on, Kreacher. " She took Kreacher's hand. "A bunch of elves over there seem to be organizing a game of elf hide 'n go seek. Why don't you go join them, and you'll learn a little bit about having fun." The two of them walked away together.

"Come on, I'm starved, let's eat!" cried Ron, and Hermione, Harry, Neville and Ron found four empty seats at one of the long tables. Without thinking about it, they sat down at the Ravenclaw table.

All of a sudden, Harry realized he was sitting on a different side of the room than he had ever sat in before and realized he was sitting at the table of a different house. He looked around the room. "Guys, look around you," he said. "What do you notice?"

Ron, Hermione and Neville looked around the room, and they all realized at the same time that people weren't sitting at their own house tables. There were Slytherins at the Gryffindor table, Ravenclaws at the Hufflepuff table, Hufflepuffs at the Slytherin table. Everybody - the students from the different houses, the professors, the parents, the members of the Order - everyone who had been there for the great battle the night before were all just sitting together wherever they felt like sitting. "This is truly an amazing day at Hogwarts," said Hermione.

Within seconds, their plates were piled high with warm buttered toast, eggs, kippers, grilled tomatoes, wizard waffles, breakfast biscuits and fresh fruit, and their mugs were filled with ice cold milk. Ron started shoveling food in his mouth so fast it started to pour out faster than he could chew it. Hermione winced in mock disgust, while Harry just laughed. "That's our boy," said Harry.

Hermione didn't answer, and just kept looking at Ron. Harry was watching Hermione who was watching Ron. Neither of them said anything. Ron just kept shoveling food into his mouth. Finally, he looked up and noticed Hermione gazing at him. "Why er ou ooking a me?" he tried to say his words all garbled as he tried to talk with his mouth stuffed with food. Hermione just smiled, and said, "Ron, would you please swallow what's in your mouth as quickly as possible?"

"Why?"

"Just please hurry,' she said.

So Ron chewed and chewed until he swallowed everything in his mouth, and he wiped the extra food from around his lips with a napkin. "So, what's up?" he said.

Hermione didn't answer, but grabbed Ron, pulled him close to her and starting kissing him the way she had the day before.

"Hermione! My whole family is here! My parents!"

"I couldn't care less," she answered, and she grabbed him and they were snogging again. All of a sudden there was applause throughout the Great Hall. Everybody was clapping for them. Hermione and Ron looked up a little sheepish. Across the room, they saw all the Weasleys, sitting together at the Slytherin table, applauding along with everyone else. Ron's ears turned bright red.

"Maybe you guys should take this somewhere else," said Neville.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. Ron looked back at his plate, still filled with his breakfast. Hermione glared at him. Ron shrugged, grabbed Hermione's hand, and the two of them ran out of the Great Hall together.

Just then, Neville's grandmother walked up to the table and said, "Neville, there's someone I want you to meet."

Neville walked away with his grandmother, leaving Harry sitting at the table by himself. Harry looked down at his plate of food. All of a sudden, he was alone with his own thoughts again as he had been when he first woke up that morning. Thoughts of everything he had been through came rushing at him. The largeness of everything that had happened was so immense, he didn't know what to think about first. He looked back up at the Weasleys sitting together on the other side of the room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Charlie, Percy, Bill, and … Ginny.

Just then, Ginny looked up and they caught each other's eye. For a moment they just looked at each other across the room. Harry's head was spinning again. This was the first time he had looked into Ginny's eyes since Voldemort had died. She looked exactly the same, and yet it felt totally different. Harry's mind flooded with memories. How she had a crush on him when they first met and he just thought of her as Ron's little sister. How later he had been jealous watching her snogging other guys. How he had been afraid of what Ron would say, and how Ron had given him that "If it has to be someone it might as well be you" look. Those last few weeks of sixth year when for just a while everything had been perfect. How he had broken up with Ginny to protect her. And then he remembered the birthday present Ginny had given him when he turned 17 so he wouldn't forget her. It was the best kiss he had ever gotten, and he had never forgotten it. Then he remembered how Ron had been angry that day. Then Ron wasn't just being a silly older brother. He had really been trying to protect Ginny. Ron didn't want Ginny to get hurt. But… now…everything was different than it had ever been before. And again Harry felt the gigantic weight lift off of his shoulders. He was truly free for the first time.

Without planning to, all of a sudden Harry was smiling across the room at Ginny. More than smiling, he was beaming from ear to ear. He had been a swirl of emotions since he woke up that morning, but now he was feeling only one: happiness. As he smiled at Ginny across the room, he realized that he was feeling happier than he had ever felt before. The only time he could remember feeling this happy was the first time he had kissed Ginny. But even that time his happiness had been mixed with the feeling of dread, of anxiety, that had always been part of him, with his knowledge of the terrible destiny that lay before him. Now his happiness felt peaceful. The most peaceful, happy feeling he had ever known. He smiled at Ginny and kept looking into her eyes feeling that he never wanted to look away. Ginny kept looking back at Harry for what felt like an eternity even though it was really only a second or two.

"What is she thinking about?" Harry wondered. "She's just been through her own nightmare. She just lost her brother. I wonder what she's thinking."

And then Ginny's lips started to move, and she broke out into the biggest smile. As Harry looked into her eyes, he could tell that she was experiencing the same feeling of happiness that he was, and Harry's heart leapt for joy.

Harry stood up. So did Ginny. Harry started walking across the room toward Ginny, while still looking into her eyes, his smile never leaving his face. Ginny started walking across the room toward Harry, grinning ear to ear, her eyes never leaving his.

Ow!" yelled Harry and Ginny and five other people all at the same time, as there were crashing sounds from both ends of the room. Since Harry and Ginny had been staring into each other's eyes, they hadn't been looking where they were going. Harry had crashed into the Gryffindor table, and Ginny had crashed into the Slytherin table, knocking platters and goblets and pitchers in every direction landing on a few heads, laps and feet. "Oops," they both cried at the same time as they got up from the floor. They looked at each other again across the room, and they both burst out laughing.

Harry pointed to the door of the Great Hall with his eyebrows raised as if asking her a question. Ginny nodded. And at the same time, they both ran from two sides of the room meeting at the door. They stopped at the door, looking at each other for a moment. Then they noticed the room had grown quiet. They turned back to face the crowd and realized that everyone was just staring at them. Watching. Waiting.

"Should we give them a show?" asked Harry.

"Nah," said Ginny.

Harry reached for her hand. Ginny took it in her own. Her hand felt so warm and comfortable in Harry's. And holding hands together, they walked out of the Great Hall.


	2. Chapter 2 - Camp Hogwarts

Harry was lying on the grass by the lake, his hands folded behind his head, gazing up at the sky. Ginny was lying next to him doing the same.

"Your turn to pick one," she said.

"Okay, how about that puffy one all the way over there?" Harry said pointing at the sky over Hogsmeade.

"Let's see. Mmm… To me it looks sort of like a squashed pigmy puff. What about you?"

"To me, it looks sort of like Hagrid's head, except his beard is white and he's missing both ears and his head looks a little bit like a squashed pigmy puff."

Harry and Ginny both laughed.

"This is nice," said Ginny.

"Yup."

The past three days had been the best three days of Harry's entire life. For the first time since he was one year old, he didn't have to deal with the Dursleys, he didn't have to fear Voldemort, and he didn't have to think about homework and tests. All he had to do was enjoy being with the girl he loved, at his favorite place on earth – Hogwarts – at the nicest time of the year, early spring, when the weather was perfect. Not hot. Not cold. Just right. Everything was just right.

For three days, Harry and Ginny had followed the same routine. They would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Great Hall, and spend the rest of the days wandering around the Hogwarts grounds, enjoying the weather, and noticing the little things. The flowers starting to bloom. The leaves appearing on the trees. The sounds of birds returning to the Forbidden Forest. They would stop to chat with people they passed. But they would only chat briefly. Because mostly they spent their days…snogging. They snogged by the lake. They snogged behind Hagrid's hut. They snogged down by the greenhouse. They snogged down the third-floor corridor on the right. They snogged in the Room of Requirement. They snogged in empty classrooms. They snogged so much that their lips had started to get a little sore. Then they snogged some more.

When they weren't snogging, they played silly games like saying what they thought clouds looked like. Once, they borrowed Ron's Wizard Brickbreaker and played that for a while. They went on broom rides and had broom races. But mostly they would go back to snogging.

Hogwarts had turned from a school into more like a vacation resort. Most of the students were gone. They had escaped through the Room of Requirement the night of the great battle, and had not returned. But everyone who had been there the night of the great battle had remained. The parents and relatives, the members of the Order, the Weasleys. The experience they had all gone through together at Hogwarts had been so incredible, nobody wanted to leave. So they just hung out, relaxing, consoling each other, sharing stories of the amazing duels, telling each other tales about what each of them had seen that night. Recounting the spells and counter-spells that had been cast. As people who had been at different places in Hogwarts at different times fighting different Death Eaters shared their stories with one another, people slowly developed in their minds the full story of the great battle.

People constantly came up to Harry at meals to ask questions. He must have had to tell something like forty times the story of how he lay on the ground pretending to be dead, and how he let Voldemort bounce him up and down. Every time he answered a question, there was always another one for him. "When did you figure out that the Elder Wand was really yours? Remind me, what was the fourth Horcrux?"

Meanwhile Ron kept telling the story of his battle with Fenrir Greyback. People kept asking Hermione about her duel with Bellatrix Lestrange. And everyone kept saying to Neville: "Your parents would be so proud of you." His grandmother was always by his side with a look of pride in her eyes, but also with a little tear. Neville always answered: "Forget me, my gram is the real warrior."

The Kitchen Elves made every meal as lavish and delicious as a banquet, and people spent hours in the Great Hall, continuing to sit with each other at any table they wanted to, and drinking no small measure of fire whiskey. By the end of these very long meals, people were talking loudly, laughing constantly and doing a lot of singing also.

There had even been a couple of Quidditch matches. They weren't house against house. Anyone could play. In one match, Harry and Ginny played Seeker for opposite teams. For one hour, they forgot all about snogging and competed against each other so intensely one would have thought they were playing for the Quidditch world cup. But in the end, Harry took his eyes off the Golden Snitch for a split second to watch Ginny's beautiful red hair flying in the breeze as she flew by him on her broomstick, and that second was all it took for Ginny to swoop down, grab the snitch and win the match.

"Ha!" she shouted at him, as she flew past him and blew him a kiss. "We won!"

"No, you didn't," he laughed. "All you did was grab the Golden Snitch. I got to watch your beautiful red hair flying behind you in the breeze. I'm the real winner."

At that, Ginny flew closer to him and this time the kiss was real. So real that they both almost fell off their broomsticks. When they recovered, they quickly landed their broomsticks on the ground and snogged some more.

The next day brought everyone back to reality. Since so many people had died the night of the great battle, they had one funeral service out on the lawn for all of the fallen heroes. Student after student, professor after professor, relative after relative, came to the front to make a speech talking about their memories of different people who had died. When Harry went to the front, he had so many people to think about. He wasn't sure who to talk about or what to say. And then he knew. He remembered his third year. How it had started on the Hogwarts Express with his first encounter with the dementors. That cold horrible feeling. And how he had met Remus. Remus had spent that year feeding Harry chocolate, and teaching him to conjure a patronus, a skill that had saved Harry and others so many times since his third year. Harry knew what he was going to say.

"Remus Lupin was my best Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher. Maybe that's not saying much. After all, my first Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher had Voldemort in his head." Everyone laughed. "My second Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher was a complete fraud. My fourth Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher was really a Death Eater. My fifth Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher was a sadistic torturer. And my sixth Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher was pretty mean to me even though it turns out he was loyal to Dumbledore and was a hero in the war against Voldemort.

"But Remus Lupin wasn't just a great Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher. Remus Lupin loved me. He loved me like a father. I could feel his love. What makes me saddest is that Teddy will grow up without feeling that love. I'll miss you, Remus." And with tears streaming down his cheeks, Harry returned to his seat. Ginny squeezed his hand in hers.

When the funeral service was over, everyone headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Unlike the meals the previous three days, this meal was somber. People talked to each other quietly. Instead of talking about the great battle, they shared stories about the people who had died, and consoled each other. Every few minutes, someone would break down and cry.

After dessert was served, Professor McGonagall stood up at the front of the room. The room grew quiet.

"I have an announcement to make. We have all been through an incredible experience together. Together, we stood up against the greatest, the most powerful evil our world has ever known, and we were victorious. And we all lost our friends and loved ones. Life will never be the same for any of us. And, yet….

She paused.

"….life must go on. All the people in this room have lives. Some of them have jobs, family and friends to go home to. And some of them…"

She paused again.

"…have classes to go to." There was some friendly booing and hissing around the room.

"Yes, remember, children. This is a school. It's only March. There are three more months of classes before summer. Tonight will be the last night of Camp Hogwarts. Tomorrow morning, everyone who doesn't belong here will say goodbye to their loved ones and return to their homes. Tomorrow night, the Hogwarts Express will arrive bringing all the students back. And the next day, classes will resume.

"So, to our guests, let me say on behalf of all of the professors how much we've enjoyed having you stay with us. And to my students, let me say, 'Enjoy your last two days of vacation.' "

McGonagall smiled at everyone and returned to her seat.

"What are you guys going to do?" asked Ginny, looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron, stuffing his mouth with chicken and gravy and potatoes all at once.

Hermione turned to Ron. "I think all our snogging has addled your brain, Mr. Food Mouth. Don't you realize? We don't go to Hogwarts anymore. We dropped out last summer. We have to leave tomorrow morning."

And suddenly it dawned on all three of them. They had nothing to do. When they dropped out of Hogwarts last summer, it hadn't seemed like such a big deal. There were Horcruxes that needed to be found and destroyed. Dumbledore had left them with a mission. It was more important than anything at Hogwarts. It was more important than everything else. The fate of the world, not just the wizarding world but the Muggle world as well, had stood in their hands. But now that it was over, all of a sudden dropping out of Hogwarts did seem like a big deal. For as long as she could remember, school had been the most important thing to Hermione. And now she would never graduate. And without graduating from Hogwarts, Harry could never become an Auror. Ron wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up, but he always had assumed he'd work at the Ministry of Magic like his dad. But without graduating from Hogwarts, he wouldn't be able to get a job at the Ministry. As all three of them thought about it, they felt a little lost. For almost a year, they had been as focused on their mission as anyone had ever been focused on anything. And now… Now they had no idea what they were supposed to do next.

Then Harry heard Ginny's voice in his head again, "What are you guys going to do?" and he turned back to look at her. She was looking at him, with a tear in one eye. And then it dawned on him. More important than graduating from Hogwarts, more important than being an Auror, more important than not knowing what he was going to do for the rest of his life, Harry realized what Ginny had been thinking about ever since McGonagall had made the announcement. Tomorrow morning, he was leaving Hogwarts. That meant leaving Ginny. He wouldn't be able to see her again until at least the summer. Now he wasn't just feeling lost. He was upset. He was angry. He couldn't say goodbye to Ginny tomorrow. He had never known this much happiness in his life. It couldn't be ending. Not this soon. Not after only four days.

The four of them were sitting by the lake. They had escaped from the crowd in the Great Hall to be alone. They had walked in silence, each one of them lost in their own thoughts, no one really leading the way but all of them heading together in the same direction to find a quiet place where they could think and talk.

As Harry sat by the lake, he thought about how he had lay there with Ginny the day before, laughing, snogging, looking at clouds with not a care in the world. He had imagined life would go on like that forever. And now, one day later, the world looked so different to him. Tomorrow he would have to leave Ginny, leave Hogwarts, and… And do what? He didn't know. All he knew was that the thought was unbearable. He thought about the end of sixth year. How he had had a few glorious weeks with Ginny before he had to break up with her to protect her. This time, it had been only four days. Why did life have to be like this for Harry? Nothing good ever lasted. Sirius. Lupin. Dumbledore. He had lost so many friends. He was finally safe and with Ginny. Why couldn't people just leave them alone and let them be together. Right then, it was all Harry really wanted.

Ginny broke the silence. "I'm dropping out of Hogwarts also. Wherever you go, Harry, I'm going with you."

Hermione turned to Harry, waiting for him to answer. Harry didn't say anything, but Hermione could see his look of misery turning into a look of relief. Hermione shook her head, rolled her eyes, and took a deep breath, as if to say,"Harry, if you're not going to do it, then I guess I'll have to do it for you."

"Ginny. You are not dropping out of Hogwarts!"

"Yes I am. You guys did at the end of your sixth year. I only have three months left in my sixth year."

"It's not the same thing. Harry dropped out to save the world from Voldemort, and to save his own life. We dropped out to help Harry."

Ginny started to speak. Then she stopped. She looked at Harry. He was sitting silently. She looked at Ron and Hermione. They were holding hands. She looked down at their hands. Quickly, Ron and Hermione let go of each other. Ginny had a tear in her eye. Her lips started to quiver. Quickly, she stood up and walked away from the group over to the lake so they wouldn't see her crying.

Harry started to get up, but Hermione held up her hand for him to wait, and Hermione got up and followed Ginny to the lake, where Ginny was sobbing quietly.

"Ginny, I know," said Hermione.

Ginny sobbed harder. "It's just not fair."

"I know. But Ginny, you know better than this. You do not drop out of school for a boy."

"First of all," said Ginny, "it's not A BOY. It's Harry. And second of all, it's not for him. It's for me. I waited for this for almost seven years. I finally have it. Being with Harry is what I want."

"Ginny, Harry will still be there when the school year is over. It's not that long. You'll be okay. You need to finish your education. Besides, you know your parents will never let you drop out of Hogwarts."

"I don't care what…"

Hermione interrupted. "Besides, Ginny, you know Harry will never let you drop out of Hogwarts to be with him."

Ginny looked at Harry, sitting with Ron on the grass, then back at Hermione.

"Harry wants to be with you more than anything, Ginny. This is killing him as much as its killing you. But you know Harry. He always tries to do the right thing. He's the heroic type. He just can't help it. And as much as the thought of leaving without you is killing him, he's going to tell you that you need to stay at Hogwarts and finish your education. You know he's going to do that. That's one of the reasons you love him so much."

Ginny knew Hermione was right. She looked back at Harry sitting on the grass and cried even harder. This time Harry got up. With tears in his eyes he walked over to Ginny, while Hermione headed back over to Ron. Hermione felt guilty getting to be with Ron, while Harry and Ginny only had one day left together.

Harry and Ginny just hugged each other. Harry didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Hermione had said it all for him, and Harry knew that Ginny understood.

After a few minutes, Ginny and Harry dried their tears on each other's robes, giggling a little, and then Ginny said, "So what are you guys going to do?" This was the same question she had asked a little while earlier in the Great Hall. Harry shrugged. He still didn't have the slightest idea.

All of a sudden, they all jumped as they heard a loud CRACK. Kreacher had appeared on the grass by the lake, and he came running over to them. "Professor McGonagall gave Kreacher an assignment. Kreacher must bring Harry, Ron and Hermione to the Headmistress's office immediately. Hurry, hurry!"

"I'm coming too," said Ginny.

"Kreacher was only told to bring Harry, Ron and Hermione," said Kreacher.

"I'm coming too," repeated Ginny. Kreacher shrugged, and the five of them started walking back to the castle.

Soon they were standing in front of the gargoyle. "Catnip," said Kreacher, and the gargoyle leapt aside revealing the circular staircase. They headed up, wondering what McGonagall wanted. When they entered the office, they saw McGonagall sitting behind her desk. Dumbledore was in his portrait behind her desk, and when he saw them, he waved and winked. They all waved back.

Then they realized that they weren't alone in the room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting on a sofa. Then, all of a sudden, Hermione screamed.

"Mum! Dad!" She ran across the room, where her parents were sitting on another sofa, smiling at her. She jumped on top of them and they turned into a jumble of hugs and kisses.

"How did you get here?"

"It was thanks to the efforts of the Headmistress's Elf," McGonagall answered for them.

"That's right," said Kreacher, nodding his head excitedly. "Professor McGonagall gave Kreacher the assignment to go to Australia and bring Hermione's parents back. Kreacher is good at finding people. Kreacher found them very quickly. Hermione's parents were working at an ice cream store. They didn't remember anything. Hermione did a very good memory charm on them. But Kreacher did a reverse memory charm, and they remembered everything."

"Sorry, mum and dad," said Hermione. "I needed to protect you…."

"We understand," said Hermione's mother. "Professor McGonagall has explained everything to us. Looks like the four of you are real heroes."

"How did you get here?" asked Hermione.

"Kreacher apparated us from Australia right into Professor McGonagall's office," said Mr. Granger.

Hermione started to speak. "But you can't…."

"I dropped the protective spells so they could apparate right to my office," interrupted McGonagall.

"We tried to bring you an ice cream cone from Australia," said Mrs. Granger, "but it turns out ice cream melts when it apparates."

Hermione sat between her parents on the couch. She was so happy to be with them again that for a minute she forgot she was leaving Hogwarts tomorrow for good. Harry, Ron, and Ginny hadn't forgotten, but first they needed to be polite.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," they all said together.

"Nice to see you kids," said Hermione's mother.

"Kreacher tells me you've been snogging my daughter," said Hermione's dad, standing up, glaring at Ron, and heading across the room toward him with clenched fists.

As Hermione looked on in horror, Ron started to mutter, "I… er.. I…," not knowing what to do. But then he saw that Mr. Granger was grinning. Mr. Granger walked over to Ron, threw his arms around him and gave him a solid hug.

"Just remember," said Mr. Granger to Ron, smiling. "She'll always be my baby girl. You hurt her, and I'll kill you."

"No, sir. I mean, yes, sir," said Ron, with a sigh of relief.

Finally, Harry couldn't wait any longer, and he turned to McGonagall. "Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

"Did you call us here for any other reason?"

"Why no, Mr. Potter. You may leave now. I will arrange to have some Dormitory Elves bring your trunks to Gryffindor Tower later." McGonagall was indicating toward the far wall behind the sofa on which the Grangers were sitting.

"Our wha…?" all three of them started to say at the same time as they turned to look where McGonagall was pointing.

Lined against the far wall were Hermione's, Ron's and Harry's school trunks. They just stared at them, not knowing what to say.

"I sent Kreacher to pack your trunks and bring them here," said McGonagall.

The three of them just gaped. They were speechless.

"But surely you plan to stay at Hogwarts to finish your seventh year and graduate," said McGonagall with mock surprise.

"But…" "We thought…" "How can…?"

All three started talking at once.

"What are you all going on about?" McGonagall said again with mock surprise. "Surely, you didn't think that we would let three of the finest - although I admit somewhat unique – students who ever graced the halls of Hogwarts leave without graduating, did you?"

"But how can we graduate?" asked Ron. "We dropped out of school last summer. We haven't attended classes for most of the year. We haven't learned anything."

"You haven't?" asked McGonagall. "Rumor has it that you spent the year living in a tent hiding in the woods, that you broke into the Ministry of Magic under the noses of the Death Eaters, that you broke into one of the most protected vaults at Gringotts, that you discovered three Deathly Hallows, tracked down and destroyed five Horcruxes, and helped destroy Voldemort. Are you sure you haven't learned anything at all this year?"

"Well….", Ron hesitated.

"I've spoken to the Hogwarts Board of Governors about the three of you. We agreed that the experience you each gained this year was worth at least as much as time in the classroom. So we're giving you credit based on "life experience" which will count as if you attended classes all year. By my authority as Headmistress of Hogwarts, I am hereby reinstating you as seventh year students."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione could hardly believe what they were hearing.

"You mean…?" said Ron

"We get to stay?" said Harry.

"As you children are fond of putting it…yup," said McGonagall.

There was a sniffling sound as Ginny started crying again.

"It's not going to be a picnic," said McGonagall. "You're going to need to start studying hard and fast, if you want to take N.E.W.T.s in June. That only leaves you with three months to learn a year's worth of material."

"But what about all our life experience?" asked Ron.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley, but unfortunately we don't offer a N.E.W.T. on Horcrux destruction. Just your basic subjects."

Hermione wasn't worried about the studying. As for Harry and Ron, they would worry about all that studying later. They were back at Hogwarts. That's all that mattered to them. Life was good. Harry looked at Ginny, then at Ron. Ron gave Harry his, "If you must" look.

"Thanks, professor," said Harry, grinning at McGonagall. And without a word, Harry and Ginny walked out of McGonagall's office, holding hands, as Dumbledore watched them leave with a smile on his face.

* * *

A/N: Let me know what you think so far.


	3. Chapter 3 - Elf Bowling

"CRACK." "CRACK." "CRACK." Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood watching as the final visitors disapparated one by one. McGonagall had lowered the defenses once again after breakfast, and, with lots of hugging and tearful "goodbyes," the visitors had gathered on the lawn and vanished one after the other.

The last one to leave was George. For him, leaving was the hardest. During the last few days at Hogwarts, he had been hanging out with his friends and family, playing Quidditch, borrowing Ron's Wizarding Brickbreaker, and playing Elf Lawn Bowling when the elves were on their breaks from work.

Hermione had been responsible for the breaks. She had told McGonagall that, in addition to paying the elves and giving them vacation time, she should give them all free time every day just to relax or have fun. McGonagall agreed that this was a good idea, but she dreaded the negotiation. The negotiation had gone something like this:

"You are all going to have a certain amount of free time every day just to relax or have fun."

"Okay," said one elf. "I have an idea. I think we should each get zero minutes. That seems fair."

McGonagall sighed. "I think you should each get one free hour at breakfast time, one free hour at lunchtime, one free hour at dinner time, and an extra hour in the afternoon to do whatever you want. And after 7 pm, you will all be free to do whatever you want until 6 am the next day."

"I have a better idea," said another elf. "How about if we each get one minute free each day and have to work hard the rest of the time?"

McGonagall groaned. "This negotiation is over," she said. "The schedule is going to be what I said. You're going to have free time. You're going to have time to relax. You're going to have fun. Get used to it." And she turned on her heels and left.

When the elves found themselves all of a sudden with lots of free time, and realized they weren't all that great at having fun, they had turned to George Weasley for help. The elves had the sense from having watched him for many years that George was actually very good at having fun. George suggested to them that they try lawn bowling. The elves liked the idea, but they had an innovation. Instead of using bowling pins, they used elves. And instead of using bowling balls, they used elves. Ten elves would stand in formation like bowling pins. The bowlers would roll elves up into balls, and use the rolled-up elf balls to try to knock over as many elf pins as they could. The elves didn't mind being rolled or being knocked over. In fact, they thought that was the most fun part. They agreed that whoever won a game got to be a ball or a pin in the next game. George just shook his head, and laughed, saying over and over again: "You crazy elves."

During the few days of Camp Hogwarts, he tried to spend as much time with Ron and Ginny as he could. Often he would find Ron and Hermione, or Ginny and Harry, alone together. George would come up to them and say things like, "So Ginny, do you think you can stop snogging Harry long enough to spend a little time with your big brother?" Or "Hermione, I think your lips are getting irritated. Maybe you should go find some chapstick while Ron and I hang out together." Ron laughed. Hermione snarled, waved her wand, muttered something, and the largest tube of chapstick Ron had ever seen appeared out of the blue right over George's head and hovered there with the bright red gooey chapstick sticking out of the open end. When George looked up to see what Ron was staring at, Hermione muttered something else, and the chapstick dropped right on George's face, leaving a large gob of red chapstick on his nose and forehead. Ron and Hermione laughed. George wiped it off his face, rubbed a little on his lips, licked his lips, and said, "Strawberry! Yum. Well-played, Hermione. They haven't invented a spell our little Hermione can't do." Hermione glared at George pretending to be miffed, but she was flattered that George had appreciated her quick-witted mischievous use of magic.

So George had spent a few days full of distractions. But he knew that once he disapparated away from Hogwarts, the painful reality was going to hit him hard. Since the first time he had set foot at Hogwarts almost nine years earlier, he had arrived at Hogwarts each time and left each time with his brother Fred. He and Fred had just arrived together several days earlier in time for the great battle. But now, for the first time in his life, he was going to leave Hogwarts without his twin brother. He was about to apparate to Diagon Alley by himself to run Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes – the store that he had dreamed about with Fred for so many years. They had dreamed it together and built it together. And once the store opened, the reality of it had been just as good as the dream. They loved working there together. They couldn't imagine a more fun way to make a living. And now that he was about to return to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes by himself, he knew the fact that his twin brother was gone forever was going to feel more real and more painful. So he was delaying his departure as long as possible. He was dreading it. The others understood.

"So will you send me owls?"

"All the time," said Ron.

"Every day," said Ginny.

"Sure you will." said George laughing. "You'll forget about me and go back to your snogging the second I pop out of here. Just let me know occasionally what's going on here at Hogwarts, will ya? The last few months before graduation are supposed to be a real hoot. You guys can get away with anything. The professors don't enforce the rules too much for seventh years who are about to graduate."

"You didn't exactly wait until your seventh year to break the rules," said Ginny.

"Righto," said George. "I guess the three of you didn't either," he said, turning to Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Guys, make sure Ginny doesn't cause too much trouble. Remember, she's only a sixth year. She needs to last at Hogwarts for a whole year more, even if you guys are about to be set free."

"I'll make sure she doesn't get into any trouble," said Harry.

Ginny started to protest while George laughed. "You will? Your middle name is 'trouble'. Have you noticed that you tend to attract trouble? For example, powerful dark wizards tend to make killing you their life's goal. That is, when house elves aren't trying to kill you during Quidditch matches."

"Not kill. He just wanted to maim or seriously injure me," said Harry, smiling, and thinking about Dobby.

"Righto. Maim or seriously injure. That is when you're not fighting mountain trolls."

"Okay, I get your point," said Harry, laughing. "Things are going to be different now. The crazy times are over. We're just going to be regular Hogwarts students."

"Mmm."

George was ready to leave. He wanted to make a joke before he left. He said the first thing he could think of: "Well, guys, I guess I won't be able to fool mum anymore. She's going to know I'm George."

Everyone smiled, but nobody laughed. They all walked over to George, put their arms around him and gave him a big hug. Finally, he said, "Okay folks, stand back, here I go."

He closed his eyes tightly, furrowed his brow, and said, "Definition, Delineation, and Dreadfulness. No, its Decadence, Dastardliness and Delay. No, wait, its Drunkenness, Dapperness and Desire. I know, its Dizziness, Dimwittedness, and Daffodils. I can never remember."

Everyone laughed. And, with a "CRACK," George was gone.

Lunch had been quiet. The Great Hall was almost empty. The only students left at Hogwarts were the seventh years who had remained for the battle of Hogwarts, and a few others. They were scattered around the Great Hall, eating in small groups at different tables. It reminded Harry of the Christmas vacations he had spent at Hogwarts rather than go home to the Dursleys.

Home. Some home it had been, Harry thought. The memories of his childhood, the cabinet under the stairs, the lousy birthdays, being locked in his room, being hungry much of the time, being picked on and yelled at, flashed through Harry's mind. Then he thought about Aunt Petunia. For the first time since the night of the great battle, he was thinking about Snape's memories he had viewed in the pensieve that night. He finally understood why Aunt Petunia had been so hard on him for all those years. She had lost her younger sister Lily to the wizarding world. Until Petunia had turned 13 and Lily had turned 11, they had always been together. But when Lily had been accepted to Hogwarts, Petunia couldn't go with her. She had been shut out of her sister's world. Petunia had been so angry, and her anger had turned to hatred - hatred of wizarding, the thing that had been denied to her and taken her sister away from her.

But, Harry realized, in one very important sense it really had been his home. As Dumbledore had explained to him, he had been protected from Voldemort for all those years for as long as 4 Privet Drive had been his home. The place had made him so miserable. And yet it had kept him safe. By making 4 Privet Drive Harry's home, the Dursleys had saved his life. That didn't make the memory of his life with the Dursleys less miserable for Harry. It just made it confusing. Harry remembered that, near the end, Dudley had actually started to seem just a bit human. "Big-D," Harry thought, and chuckled. For a moment, he wondered where the Dursleys had gone and when he would ever see them again. Then, he decided that he didn't care all that much. He had spent enough time thinking about 4 Privet Drive and the Dursleys. The Dursleys were his past. His future was sitting at the table. He looked up at Ginny. Ginny seemed lost in thought herself.

Saying goodbye to everyone had been emotional, and now all of them, not just Harry, were lost in their own thoughts. Hermione was thinking about her parents. She had actually made them forget they had a daughter. For the entire past year, Hermione hadn't known if she would ever see her parents again. She had felt so alone. Maybe that's why it had been so hard for her when Ron had left. She had felt as if Harry and Ron were her only family. And now she had her parents back. And now they were gone again. But she'd see them again at graduation.

Ron and Ginny were both thinking about George. They knew that they would both miss Fred so much. He was a great brother. He liked to tease, but he always looked out for his family. And he could always find the humor in any situation. Nothing could stay serious for long with Fred around. But they weren't thinking about how much they would miss Fred. They were thinking about how much George would.

Fred was like George's other half. They had been closer than best friends since they were born. Ron and Ginny loved hearing stories about when Fred and George were babies. Their favorite story was about how their parents would put Fred and George in separate cribs in the same room. In the morning, they would find them in the same crib together. They weren't old enough to sit up or roll over, much less climb out of their cribs. One night, when Arthur and Molly went into the room to check on them in the middle of the night, the mystery was solved. They found Baby Fred, sound asleep, floating in the air into George's crib. "They even love each other in their sleep," said Molly with a smile and a little tear in her eye.

The meal had been very quiet, with everyone lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Harry broke the silence. Turning to Ron, who was shoveling a spoonful of pudding into a mouth that was already filled with cookies, he said: "Hey, mate. This is our last afternoon of Camp Hogwarts. The Hogwarts Express will be back with everyone else by dinner time. What do you want to do?"

"Want to go for a swim in the lake?" suggested Ron.

Hermione and Ginny both shook their heads. "It's still too cold out for swimming," said Hermione. "Why don't we go down to visit Hagrid. Once classes start we never have much time to visit him."

Everyone agreed, and they started getting up from the table when Ron waved his hand to get their attention since his mouth was too full of food for him to talk. Unfortunately, his hand was holding a fork with a piece of apple pie on it. The pie flew off Ron's fork, across the table, hit Hermione on her cheek and stuck to it. "Nice one, Ron," said Hermione, scraping pie off her face.

"Sorry."

Hermione put some of the pie from her cheek into her mouth. "This pie is pretty good," she said to Ron. "I think I'll have the rest of your piece." Hermione waved her wand, and Ron's pie plate flew across the table and settled in front of her.

"Hey!" said Ron. But he thought better of dueling with Hermione across the table, and got himself another piece of pie.

"By the way," asked Hermione. "Why were you waving your hand wildly like that anyway?"

"I was just trying to get you guys to sit back down and stay awhile. This dessert is good. I was planning to have a piece of chocolate cake after I finish the apple pie, the pudding and the cookies. I couldn't talk because my mouth was full."

Ginny laughed. "Yeah, Ron's always watching his table manners."

Everyone laughed. "Fine, laugh all you want," said Ron, "but this dessert is REALLY good."

"You know something," Harry said. "The food at Hogwarts has always been pretty good, but it's been even better these days. Not just the desserts. I've been noticing that I'm really enjoying everything just a bit more. Those eggs this morning. They were fried just perfectly. Not too soft, not too crispy, not too hot, not too cold, just salty enough. They were the best eggs I ever had. And the gravy we had last night, my mouth was tingling when I ate it. It was sort of like the regular gravy, but there was something special about it."

"You're right," said Ginny. "And did you notice the toast at breakfast? You know how when you grab toast, you're always hoping you'll get a good piece? Sometimes it can be a little too dark, or even burnt. Or sometimes it doesn't get toasted enough and its soft and its hard to butter without tearing it? And sometimes by the time it appears on the table it's kind of cold? Lately, all the toast has been perfect. Warm, a little soft, a little crispy, lightly browned without being burned. I've never had such good toast in my life!"

"Good morning, professor," said Harry. The other three looked up, and they saw McGonagall standing by the table watching them. She had an unusual smile on her face.

"Good morning," said McGonagall. "I've been listening to your conversation. I see you've noticed."

"What's going on, professor?" asked Ginny. "Why is all the food sooooo good?"

"That's a very good question, Ginny. Why do you think?"

"That's not fair," said Ron, with a smile. "Classes don't start until tomorrow. Ginny shouldn't have to think today."

Professor McGonagall laughed. "Five points for Gryffindor if one of you can answer the question."

They all looked at her. After what they had been through, winning five points, even winning the House Cup, didn't seem all that exciting. But they were intrigued. And they all started to think.

"Miss Granger?" said McGonagall.

"Yes?"

"I should think that you would know."

Hermione looked puzzled. She thought some more. Why should Hermione of all people know. Ron was the one who liked food the most. Then Hermione burst out into a gigantic smile.

"It looks like Ms. Granger has figured it out," said McGonagall. "Why don't you tell your friends?"

Everyone looked at her.

"It's the elves," said Hermione.

"What elves?" asked Ron.

"The kitchen elves."

"What about them?"

"They're free."

"So?"

"Don't you understand?" said Hermione. "Until now, they were slaves. They had to do all of the cooking. They had no choice. They did it because they were supposed to. They worked hard at it. And they did it pretty well. But… now…"

Hermione looked at McGonagall, as if to ask: "Am I getting it right?"

McGonagall smiled at her and nodded. "Go on, Ms. Granger."

"But now they have a choice. They do the cooking because they want to. They're free. They…" She hesitated again, and looked at McGonagall to make sure she was explaining it right. McGonagall just smiled and nodded.

Hermione went on. "Dumbledore once said, 'Freedom makes the heart soar.'"

"Sounds like him," said Ron. "He always said mental stuff like that."

Hermione ignored him. "Their hearts are soaring," said Hermione. "They're doing the cooking with soaring hearts. That's why the food tastes so good. The elves aren't just cooking with their hands and their minds anymore. They're putting their hearts into it."

"You said it perfectly, Ms. Granger."

"That's amazing," said Ginny. "I've heard the expression, 'The sweet taste of freedom.' But I always thought it was just an expression. I never imagined you could actually taste it. But we can actually taste freedom?"

McGonagall smiled and nodded.

"Wow!" said Ron, turning to Hermione. "If I knew the food would get this good, I would have taken your S.P.E.W. thing more seriously."

"If you had taken my S.P.E.W. thing more seriously," said Hermione with a smile, "you might not have had to wait so long to snog me."

Harry and Ginny laughed.

"There's a lesson in this for you children," said McGonagall. "Three of you will be graduating soon, and Ginny, your time will come in just another year. You're all going to have to decide what to do with your lives after graduation. So take a lesson from the kitchen elves. Whatever you each choose to do, make sure you choose something that makes your heart soar. If you do, you won't just be happier. You'll also do it better."

McGonagall looked at Hermione. "Miss Granger?"

"Yes."

"You understand, don't you, that the lives of elves will never be the same? Freedom, once it is unleashed, cannot be contained. It may have started here at Hogwarts, but over time it will spread. You didn't just change life for elves at Hogwarts. Over time, Ms. Granger, your work will change the world."

Hermione didn't say anything. She understood. She thought of all the S.P.E.W. badges she had made. All the little clothes she had hidden. Most people had thought she was being silly. Even she felt a little silly doing it some of the time. She had done it even though it felt silly because she thought it was the right thing to do. She had never really believed her work was going to change anything. But now she realized that she had changed everything. The enormity of what she had done overwhelmed her, and she didn't say anything. She just looked at McGonagall, and nodded.

"Hermione. I'm proud of you," said McGonagall. She turned on her heels to leave. Then she looked back at Hermione. "Take five points for Gryffindor," she said with a smile, and turned and walked away.

* * *

A/N: More chapters coming up.


	4. Chapter 4 - A Pile of Blankets

"How many NEWTs are you guys thinking of taking?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron, as the four of them made their way from the castle down to Hagrid's hut.

"I didn't want to take any, but Dad and Percy say if I want to work at the Ministry I should take at least a few. Percy says it will be 'better for my career'. So I guess I'll have to take a couple. Not sure which ones. What about you, Harry?"

"Well, now that we're back at Hogwarts, it looks like I still have a chance to become an auror. But to become one, I'm going need to take five NEWTs, and get at least an "E" on all of them. "

"Which ones are you going to take," asked Ginny.

"Well, I definitely have to take Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology. And then I have to choose one more. I think I'll choose Potions. I was particularly good at Potions. I was actually the best in the class at Potions," he said smiling at Hermione.

Hermione just glared.

"How about you, Hermione?" asked Ginny.

"Well, I was thinking… I'm planning to…I thought I would…"

"What she's trying to say," said Ron, "is that she's going to take every single NEWT."

"All of them?" said Harry. "You're sure? There's less than three months of school left. That's a lot to learn. Do you really want to work that hard?"

"It'll be fun," said Hermione. "Besides, I won't have THAT much to learn. I finished reading all of the seventh year books months ago."

"You finished reading all of them?" said Harry. "Months ago? When? How could you have? Months ago we were…"

"Remember all the nights we camped out while we were on the run?" said Ron. "What do you think Hermione was doing when it was her turn to keep watch?"

"Reading school books?

"She carried all of them in her little beaded handbag."

"As long as I wasn't sleeping, I didn't see any reason to waste all that time doing nothing," said Hermione . "How did you guys spend your time when you were keeping watch?".

"Mostly I practiced spells," said Harry. "I exploded pine cones, snapped dead branches off of trees, you know, stuff like that. I wanted to keep up with my magic in case we ran into Death Eaters."

They both turned to Ron.

"Well, err…." Ron looked sheepish. "I… well…mostly I played Wizard Brickbreaker.

They all laughed as they arrived at the door of the hut.

Harry knocked on the door.

"Wha… who… wait…hold on a sec…" The four of them heard the thumping sound of Hagrid scurrying inside the hut.

"It's us, Hagrid," called Hermione.

"Oh…wait…" They heard more scurrying.

"Er… come on in then… What are you waiting for?" said Hagrid.

Hermione opened the door, and they all walked in to find Hagrid sitting in his enormous chair at his table holding a cup of tea.

"What's going on?" asked Ron.

"Goin on? Why would anything be going on? There's nothing goin on," said Hagrid, looking nervously at the far corner of the room, where the four of them could see a bunch of old blankets in a pile as if they had been quickly thrown there. They pretended they didn't notice.

"I'm jus havin myself a nice cup a' tea. Yup. Jus havin some tea. Would the lot a ya like to join me for a spot of tea?"

"Sure," said Ginny.

Pretty soon, the table was covered with five steaming mugs of tea, and a platter of treacle fudge. Everyone's teeth kept sticking together as they tried to talk.

"Guess what," said Hermione.

"Yer all goin to stay at Hogwarts to finish your seventh year?"

"How did you know?" asked Hermione.

"I hear things, ya know," said Hagrid with a twinkle in his eyes. "I'm glad. I was'n ready to lose you guys. Not yet, anyway. Sure missed you around here all year. Grawpy and Fang missed you too."

"Where are they?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, they're playing in the forest. Grawpy throws sticks and Fang chases them. Problem is, Grawpy can throw a stick about a mile and one-half. It takes Fang a long time to bring them back. After a few games with Grawpy, Fang usually comes back to the hut panting and falls asleep by the fire."

Everyone laughed.

"Ya know," said Hagrid. "I actually was'n around much this year myself. Me and Fang and Grawpy hid up in the woods mos' of the year. Hidin' out from those bloody Death Eaters. They weren't too happy about the "Support Harry Potter" party I threw at Hogwarts. You should have seen the look on the Carrows' faces when they came into the Great Hall and saw everyone eating cake and holding "Support Harry Potter" posters with your smiling face looking at them. The 'poster Harry Potter' actually waved to the Carrows when they walked into the hall. It was worth it just to see the look on their faces. But me and Fang and Grawpy had to get out of there real quick after that. The Death Eaters were definitely not happy about the whole thing."

"You know you didn't have to throw a party for me," said Harry, smiling.

"I sure did," said Hagrid. "Ye should have heard those Carrows. Telling everyone that Harry Potter was afraid. Harry Potter ran away. Harry Potter is scared of 'he who must not be named'. Harry Potter left all his friends and escaped. I knew you were planning somethin. I couldn't let them get away with talking about ye that way."

"Well, I'm honored," said Harry.

Hagrid looked at Harry, Hermione and Ron. "So, are all of ye signing up to take Care of Magical Creatures this term?"

Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at each other nervously.

"Er…", said Harry. "We…"

"I'm jus' kiddin," said Hagrid. "Seventh years never take Care of Magical Creatures. Jus' pullin' your legs a little."

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"You kids are goin to have a lot of studying to do real fast if you plan on taking any N.E.W.T.s. I never took any personally, ya know, but I hear they can be pretty brutal."

"Actually, one of us doesn't have that much studying to do," said Ron. "Guess who finished reading all of the seventh year textbooks at the same time she was battling Death Eaters and searching for Horcruxes."

Hagrid beamed. "Our Hermione," he said. "I always say they ain't never invented a spell our Hermione can't do."

Hermione blushed.

"By the way, Hermione," asked Harry. "Last fall when we were camping in the woods, you had no way of knowing that we would make it back to Hogwarts to finish our seventh years. Why were you reading the textbooks?"

"That's easy. I wanted to have the information."

"Knowledge for its own sake," said Ron. "You are a real intellectual."

"Well, not exactly," said Hermione. "I actually used some of the information I learned."

"Really?" asked Harry. "In the battle for Hogwarts?"

"Not exactly."

"How did you use it?"

"Well there was one particular charm I read about in the advanced charms textbook."

"What charm?" asked Harry.

"Uhm…it's called the… 'Incredible Itching Irritant.'"

Harry and Ginny laughed. "What did you use it for?" asked Ginny.

"Well…er…"

Ron wasn't laughing. He was staring at Hermione, his eyes on fire, as she continued.

"I kind of…well…you see… I was pretty mad at….at…"

"Me," said Ron. "She was mad at me. I can't believe you did that!" yelled Ron. "I thought there were lice or something in my cot in the tent when I first came back and found you guys in the woods. It lasted for three days or so. I never scratched so much in my life."

"Yeah. You looked pretty miserable," said Hermione. "I felt pretty bad, so after three days I did the counter-charm. I was still pretty angry at you, but you looked like you were going to scratch all your skin off. So I decided to be nice to you."

"Nice to me?!" Ron yelled.

"You forgive me, sweetie? Don't you?" asked Hermione.

"I guess I better," said Ron. "If I don't, you'll probably turn me into a toad or something."

"You'd make a cute toad," said Hermione, and she gave him a quick snog. Ron always seemed happier after Hermione snogged him.

Hagrid kept looking at the pile in the corner of the room. He seemed impatient. Finally, he said: "Well, the Hogwarts Express will be coming with the rest of the students soon." I guess you guys need to run along and get ready. There'll be a big banquet when they get here. Thanks for coming by."

"Soon? We just had lunch," said Ginny. "The train won't get here for hours."

"Well… er… I need to get ready to meet the train," said Hagrid. "You know, I have to take the first years across the lake in the boat."

"How long could it take you to get ready?" asked Harry. "What's the rush?"

Well…ye know…I need to take a bath and everything."

The kids all looked at each other thinking the same thing: "Take a bath?" They couldn't picture Hagrid taking a bath. They weren't sure he ever took a bath. It didn't seem likely that he was going to spend the entire afternoon taking a bath. But it was clear that he wanted them to leave, so Harry got up and said: "Well, then, I guess we should move on and get ready for the banquet. Come on, guys."

Hermione, Ron and Ginny got up. "See ya at the banquet," they said to Hagrid, and they left the hut.

In front of the hut, they all looked at each other. "What do you think that was all about?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Hermione, "but there was definitely something under those blankets that Hagrid didn't want us to see."

"What do you think it was?" asked Ron.

"Knowing Hagrid, it's probably some kind of dangerous animal."

"Who did he think he was fooling with that bath thing?" said Ginny.

"Let's sneak around back and peak through his window," said Harry.

"That wouldn't be right," said Hermione, but Harry, Ron and Ginny were already tiptoeing around the hut. Hermione was just as curious, so she followed them.

They snuck, crawling on all fours, to just under Hagrid's back window, and then they slowly rose so they could just peek over the bottom of the window and see what was inside. As their eyes rose over the edge of the bottom, instead of seeing the inside of the hut, all they could see was brown. Something was blocking their view. Together, they stood up a little higher until they were standing face to face with…Hagrid, who was standing in front of the window staring out at all four of them.

Hagrid wagged his finger at them, as if to say, "Naughty, naughty. You shouldn't be sneaking around looking into people's windows," and he closed the curtains.

The four of them were sitting by the lake again. It was such a nice day, too cold to swim, but the perfect day to be outdoors and enjoy the last afternoon before Hogwarts became a school again, with classes, homework, N.E.W.T.s to prepare for, and the castle and grounds teeming with students. Now it was just peaceful.

They were all lying on the grass with their hands folded behind their heads looking up at the clouds.

Ron broke the silence. "So we've got to figure out what Hagrid's got hidden under that pile of blankets, right?"

"If Hagrid wanted us to know, he would have shown us," said Hermione.

"Right," said Ron. "So, Harry, what do you think? Invisibility cloak?"

"Yup. After everyone goes to sleep tonight. Ginny, you coming with us?"

"Sure," said Ginny, happy to finally be invited on one of their rule-breaking adventures.

Hermione was looking exasperated.

"What's wrong?" said Harry.

"Let me remind you of the exact words you said to George just a couple of hours ago," said Hermione. "'Things are going to be different now. The crazy times are over. We're just going to be regular Hogwarts students.'"

"Oh that."

"Yeah, that."

"Well, this is no big deal," said Harry. "It's not like we're going to break into Gringotts or the Ministry of Magic or anything."

"And do you remember what you told George about Ginny?" asked Hermione.

"Er…I forget," said Harry.

"It was just a couple of hours ago," said Hermione.

"Er…"

"Let me remind you," said Hermione. "It was something like this. 'I'll make sure she doesn't get into any trouble.' Actually, it wasn't SOMEthing like that. Those were your exact words."

"Oh, that," said Harry, laughing. "Well, then I better hope the invisibility cloak still works."

"Harry!" said Hermione, even more exasperated.

"Come on, Hermione," said Ginny. "I can take care of myself."

"I still don't think its right to spy on Hagrid," said Hermione. "If he wanted us to know, he would have told us."

"You know you're right," said Harry. "Okay, so here's the plan, Ginny. You meet Ron and me in the Gryffindor common room at 11 o'clock tonight. Tiptoe, so you don't wake anyone up."

"What?!" said Hermione.

"Well, it looks like you would feel pretty bad spying on Hagrid, and I don't want you to feel bad, so we'll go without you," said Harry.

"You will do nothing of the kind!" said Hermione. "If you guys are going, I'm going too."

Harry and Ron grinned at each other. "Okay," said Harry, "if you're sure you really want to."

"Let's just be careful," she said. "Tomorrow is our first day of our seventh year at Hogwarts. Let's not get expelled before we make it to our first class."

"Come on, Hermione," said Ron. "Be serious. We're all kind of like heroes. I don't think McGonagall is going to be doing any expelling any time soon."

"Wait," said Harry. "We've got a problem. How are all four of us going to fit under the invisibility cloak? We've gotten a little bigger since we were 11. Even three of us can barely fit under it. There's no way we can all get under it without our legs showing."

"No problem," said Hermione. "I've been practicing the invisibility spell. You know the one Fred and George used to make the Headless Hats? I'm pretty sure I can turn all of our legs invisible."

"That's our Hermione," said Ron. "I always say, they ain't never invented a spell our Hermione can't do."

Hermione punched Ron in the arm.

"Ow," said Ron.

"You should say thank you," said Hermione.

"Why?"

"At least I didn't turn you into a toad. Now, let me practice the invisibility spell. Stand up, Ron."

Ron looked scared.

"Don't be scared," said Hermione. "I'm pretty sure I can do it."

"Pretty sure?"

"Yeah, I think there's a good chance it will probably work."

"Good chance? Probably work?" said Ron. "What if it doesn't?"

"No big deal," said Hermione. "Worst thing that will happen is that your legs will turn into rubber hoses. Or maybe the bones will just disappear like when Lockhart tried to help Harry. Or, I suppose, in the worst case scenario, your legs could turn into spider legs."

Ron looked horrified. He didn't move.

"Ron, I'm just kidding. I know how to do it. I'm really good at it. Have you ever known me to screw up a spell?"

"Well…er…"

"Come on, Ron. Have I ever once blown a spell since you met me?"

"No."

"So stand up and let me zap you," she said, smiling.

"Can't you try it on Ginny?"

"What do you mean, Ron!" cried Ginny. "I'm your little sister. You're supposed to protect me, not throw me to a dark wizard."

Hermione laughed. "I can't believe you guys are such chickens. It's not that hard a spell. Would one of you please stand up and let me practice on you?"

Harry stood up.

"Thanks, Harry. At least one of you trusts me."

"It's not a matter of trust," said Harry. "Remember, I died a few days ago. I figure how much worse can this be."

Everyone laughed.

"Okay, now stand real still," said Hermione, standing up, pulling her wand out of her gown, and raising it in the spell-casting position. "Now let me see… How does that spell go again?"

Harry looked worried.

She pointed her wand at Harry's legs. "Cruris Elongato!" she cried.

Immediately, Harry's legs stretched until they were ten feet long. The rest of his body stayed the same, just his legs were long. It looked like he was standing on ten foot stilts.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled. "I thought you said you knew what you were doing."

"I do," said Hermione. "I was just fooling around. How do you like my leg elongating spell?"

"It's pretty cool," said Harry. "Let me try to walk."

Harry took a few steps. "Hey, this is pretty cool. I thought I would have trouble balancing, like if I was walking on stilts. But I can walk just fine."

Hermione lifted her wand.

"Wait," said Harry. "One second. Before you bring me down..."

Harry walked over to the apple tree next to the lake, reached to one of the highest branches, and pulled off four, juicy red apples. "Okay, now."

Hermione raised her wand, pointed it at Harry's legs, and cried "Cruris Curto!"

Harry was standing there, his legs back to normal. He tossed an apple to Ron, one to Ginny, one to Hermione, and took a bite out of the last one.

"Mmm…That's good. Now, would you quit fooling around and show us your stuff?"

"Okay," said Hermione. "Cruris Occaeco."

Harry was standing there looking totally normal, except, from mid-thigh to the ground, his legs had totally disappeared. Everyone looked through the spot where his legs had been and had a perfect view of the lake.

"Nice work, Hermione," said Ron.

"Why do you always sound so surprised?" asked Hermione, smiling.

"Good job, Hermione," said Ginny.

"Do you think you can do all four of us at once?" asked Harry.

"Sure. Would the two of you please stand up now, or do you still not trust me?"

Ginny and Ron stood up and walked over to where Harry was standing. Hermione quickly made their legs disappear, then turned her wand on her own legs. They were all standing by the lake without any legs.

"I guess we're set for tonight, then," said Harry. "Okay, we'll take our legs back now."

"Wait," said Hermione, "I want to see something first. Ginny, stand in front of Harry."

Ginny did what Hermione asked.

"Now, I want to see both of you do a waltz. It will look hysterical for you to dance without any legs."

"I can't waltz," said Harry.

"Yes you can," said Ron laughing. "Professor McGonagall and I taught you how to waltz our fourth year before the Yule Ball. Come on, bloke. Let's see you do it."

Harry and Ginny tried to waltz next to the lake. Fortunately for them, no one could see their feet all twisted up. All Hermione and Ron could see was Harry and Ginny continually bumping into each other and almost falling over.

"Ow!" yelled Ginny. "That was my foot."

"Sorry," said Harry. "I'll try a spin move."

Hermione and Ron saw the tops of Harry and Ginny's body start to spin. Then they saw Harry's body up against Ginny's and both of them start to tip over with Harry's body landing on top of Ginny's.

"Oof!" yelled Ginny.

"Sorry," said Harry, rolling off of her. "Okay, Hermione, you had your fun. May we please have our legs back now?"

"Cruris Exsto."

Harry and Ginny's legs, twisted around each other, re- appeared. They untwisted themselves, brushed off the grass and dirt, and stood up.

"You forgot us," said Ron. Hermione and Ron's legs were still invisible. She waved her wand again and their legs re-appeared.

"Nonverbal! That was very cool," said Ginny.

Hermione smiled, blushing a little. "Come on, guys. Let's get ready for the banquet."

And the four of them headed back up the hill.

* * *

A/N: more chapters coming


	5. Chapter 5 - The Great Hall

At dinnertime, everyone was sitting in the Great Hall, each house sitting at its own table. The teachers were sitting at the faculty table at the far end of the room. The elves, who had decorated the Great Hall especially for the return-to-school feast, were scurrying around, making sure everything was set properly. Most of the students, who had just returned on the Hogwarts Express a few minutes earlier, noticed the elves' little red uniforms for the first time. They had never seen house elves wearing clothes before, and they started whispering to each other, wondering what was going on.

When all the students had found seats, McGonagall rose from her seat in the middle of the staff table, and waited for the noise to die down. The room quickly quieted, and she began speaking:

"Students. Welcome back to Hogwarts. As you probably know, I have been appointed as the Headmistress of Hogwarts."

The crowd started to applaud. The Gryffindor table was especially raucous, with the students standing up and whooping, and with the older students using their wands to send fireworks flying across the Great Hall.

At first McGonagall smiled at the reaction, but she quickly recovered and remembered to be stern.

"Students, you know that fireworks are not permitted in the Great Hall. Now, please take your seats and cease the hollering and whooping."

Slowly, the room got quieter and the Gryffindors stopped whooping.

McGonagall continued. "Most of you just returned to Hogwarts for the first time since the great battle. You have heard many rumors, you have read stories in the Daily Prophet, you've talked to each other. Many of you know a lot about what has happened. But there are certain facts that I want to make sure that each and every one of you knows. So I will state them now as clearly as possible.

"First, Voldemort is dead. He died here at Hogwarts. He died while trying to kill Harry Potter."

McGonagall stopped speaking for a moment to let her words sink in. Then she continued. "This is exactly how Voldemort died. Voldemort cast the death curse at Mr. Potter at the same time that Mr. Potter cast "Expelliarmus". Voldemort's curse bounced back and killed him. Voldemort is really dead. He will not come back. You do not need to worry about Voldemort ever again."

The fact that Voldemort was dead wasn't exactly a secret. Everyone knew that Voldemort was dead. Articles about the death of Voldemort had been on the cover of the Daily Prophet for days. But somehow, for many of the students, it had never felt totally real. Until now. The students had feared Voldemort, feared even his name, since the day they were born. It was hard to imagine living in a world in which they did not have to fear him. But when the students heard McGonagall say the words out loud, something snapped inside many of them, and it finally felt real. They finally understood that Voldemort was really, really, gone. There was something about McGonagall. Maybe it was her voice. Maybe it was the fact that she was Headmistress. But for whatever reason, when she said the words, it finally felt real. The students trusted McGonagall, much in the same way that they had trusted Dumbledore before her.

It wasn't clear to the students what the appropriate response was to hearing McGonagall pronounce that Voldemort was dead. Some of the students wondered if they should clap. Clapping didn't seem right. It didn't seem like enough. It was too big a thing to clap for. But a couple of students started clapping anyway. It sounded awkward, with a few students clapping in such a large room. But then a few more students joined them. As the clapping grew louder, others joined until there was thunderous applause throughout the room. The students were sharing with each other their relief that they never had to worry about Voldemort again. But even though the clapping was loud, applauding the death of Voldemort still didn't feel exactly right.

Through the din of the clapping, all of a sudden Neville shouted the name, "Harry!" Harry – who was sitting across the Gryffindor table about 20 feet away from him – looked up to see why Neville was calling him. Neville was looking at Harry, but with a look in his eye that seemed to be ignoring him. He didn't change his expression as he and Harry looked at each other, but he yelled again, "Harry!" Harry stared at Neville. He couldn't figure out why Neville was shouting his name. Harry raised his eyebrows, as if to say,"Why are you calling me?" Neville ignored Harry, but yelled "Harry!" a third time, slowly, holding the "Ha" part of the name before saying "rry". Harry was puzzled. Again, Neville shouted, "Ha…rry!" holding the "Ha…" part and ending with a sharp "rry". He seemed to be shouting rhythmically, and he was pounding on the table each time he shouted 'Ha..' and each time he shouted 'rry'". Then, all of a sudden, Harry figured out what Neville was doing.

"No!" cried Harry, frantically, shaking his head at Neville and waving at him to stop.

Neville ignored Harry. "Ha…rry!" he shouted. The next time Neville shouted, he was joined by Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting on either side of him. "Ha…rry!" the three of them chanted, pounding their fists on the table.

Harry groaned.

Ron, Ginny and Hermione grinned and joined in: "Ha…rry! Ha…rry!" they shouted, joining the chant that Neville had started, and slapping and pounding the table. Now that six of them were doing it, the chant took on a life of its own. Harry felt himself slowly sinking deeper and deeper, his face turning beet red.

Within seconds, all the students in the room, even the Slytherins, had taken up the chant.

"Ha...rry! Ha..rry!" The chanting grew louder. Students were pounding the tables and stamping their feet on the floor with each beat. "Ha...rry! Ha..rry!"

The whole room was pounding with the sound of his name being chanted over and over again. All of a sudden, the chant grew much louder. Harry looked up. Hagrid had joined the chant, yelling with the students and pounding his gigantic fist on the staff table. Harry groaned again and sunk deeper, wishing he could disappear into the floor.

"Oh no, not her," Harry thought, as he saw McGonagall joining the chant. He couldn't imagine in a million years Minerva McGonagall pounding on the staff table and chanting his name, but there she was. His biggest nightmare was coming true. Once McGonagall started, the rest of the teachers joined in.

Harry turned to Ginny. Ginny grinned back at him and continued shouting his name as loud as anyone. Harry glared at her.

"Ginny," Harry whispered. "This is a nightmare. I'd rather be tortured by Bellatrix than this. Make it stop!"

"Oh, I couldn't make it stop if I wanted to," said Ginny, still smiling. "And I don't want to. Face it. You're a hero. And you're my boyfriend. I have a hero for a boyfriend." She started singing to Harry, in a teasing way: "My boyfriend is a hero. My boyfriend is a hero." Then Ginny giggled, and went back to chanting "Ha..rry!" at the top of her lungs.

Harry looked around the room. He didn't know what to do. He had never heard chanting this loud and passionate in his life, not even at the Quidditch World Cup. He wanted it to stop. But it didn't sound as if it was going to stop any time soon. If anything, it was growing stronger. Everyone in the room had such strong feelings about all the things that had just happened. The feelings had been hard to express. But finally they had a way to express all of the powerful emotions they were feeling simply by shouting the name of the person who had been responsible for Voldemort's destruction. It made the people in the room feel so good to be shouting out Harry's name and pounding the table together with all of their friends that nobody wanted to stop.

Harry never wanted to be a hero. More importantly, he hated that people thought he enjoyed being a hero. He was ready, finally, to just be Harry Potter. Of course, he wasn't sure exactly who this Harry Potter was that he wanted to be. For 11 years he had been miserable living with the Dursleys. He didn't want to go back to that again. Now, for almost seven years he had been in a life and death struggle with Voldemort, and he usually ended up being the hero. He was done struggling with Voldemort and done being a hero. But what did that leave him? Who was the real Harry Potter that he just wanted to be? He wasn't sure. He didn't know exactly who he wanted to be, just that he wanted to be something different. And now this. Today, he was a hero again, and he knew he would have to deal with it.

"Hermione!" he shouted across the table.

"What?" she shouted back at him, pausing from her chanting for a moment.

"Having fun?" he asked. Harry knew that Hermione knew just how much he hated the chanting.

"Yup," she said smiling. "How about you?"

"Nope," he said, glaring.

"Too bad," she smiled, "you're a hero." And she went back to chanting Harry's name and pounding on the table.

"Ha..rry! Ha..rry!"

"Hermione," he shouted again across the table.

"What?" she shouted back at him again.

"How do I make this stop?" he asked.

"There's only one way you can make it stop."

"How?"

"You know how," she said.

Harry groaned again. "No!" he said.

"Then everyone's going to keep on chanting your name," said Hermione, smiling. "Maybe it will go on forever."

"I am not going to make a speech," said Harry.

Ron stopped chanting Harry's name for a second to join the conversation. "Mate, you have no choice. The chanting is not going to stop until you say something. Just stand up and get it over with."

Harry groaned again, as Ron and Hermione went back to pounding the table with their fists and shouting Harry's name even louder.

Harry thought. He really didn't want to speak. Making a speech would be saying that everyone was right for shouting his name, that he really was a hero, that he thought he was a hero, that he thought he deserved all the chanting. He didn't. And he certainly didn't want anyone to think that he thought he was a hero. What could he say? He needed to say something to make the chanting stop. But he didn't want to say anything that would make it seem like he thought he deserved all of this fuss. He tried to figure out what to say. "Thank you?" No, that wasn't right. That would make it seem like he thought he deserved it. How about: "I don't deserve all of this. I'm not a hero."? No. That would make it seem like he thought he really was a hero and that he was trying to sound humble.

All Harry knew was that he needed the chanting to stop. It had gone on for five minutes, it was getting stronger, and it was getting ridiculous. He had no idea what he was going to say, but he decided to quickly stand up before he changed his mind. So he leapt to his feet.

When people saw him stand up, the chanting grew even louder. "HA…RRY! HA...RRY!" Now Harry was standing in a room with hundreds of people chanting his name. Standing while they all chanted his name and looked at him made him even more embarrassed, but he didn't know how to get people to be quiet. He looked at Hermione. She motioned for him to raise his hand and wave it downward as a signal for people to quiet down. He did it. And almost instantaneously the room became silent. Everyone in the room was sitting silently, staring at him. This was worse. The way everyone became silent at one wave of his hand made him seem important. Like he was Dumbledore or something. They were all waiting for him to make a speech.

Ginny took her wand, whispered "sonorus," and handed the wand to Harry.

"Thanks," he sort of grunted at her, without smiling.

"You're welcome," said Ginny, smiling at him with a big grin. "Now everyone can hear every word my hero says!"

Harry looked back at Ginny, with a helpless look on his face, as if to say, "I'd rather be anywhere else in the universe right now, rather than standing here about to make a speech when I have no idea what to say. Can't you and I just go somewhere quiet and snog for a while?"

Ginny understood what he was thinking, just from his look. She squeezed his hand, and whispered, "You're going to do fine." Then she kissed the tips of her fingers and touched his fingers with them.

Harry looked around the room at everyone staring at him. Then he caught McGonagall's eye. She was looking at him. He looked back at her. McGonagall didn't smile, but she nodded to him. Harry knew what that nod meant. McGonagall had confidence in him. McGonagall knew he could handle this. Just as he had looked into Dumbledore's sparkling blue eyes so many times and felt safe, Harry felt better after seeing McGonagall's nod.

He spoke into Ginny's wand, and his voice resonated throughout the Great Hall.

"That night at Hogwarts," Harry began, "there were many heroes here." Harry looked around the room. Then he continued: "Many of the heroes are sitting in this room right now. We all dug deep and fought hard that night because we believed in what we were fighting for." He paused. Then he went on.

"We all lost friends that night. Some of us lost more than friends." Harry looked at Dennis Creevey. He looked at Ron. Then he down looked at Ginny. She had a tear in her eye. Harry put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.

"Fifty people died that night. All of them were heroes. It is up to us who survived to honor their memories. Let us always remember what it was they died for. We were not just fighting against Voldemort that night. Voldemort was a person. He was a terrible person. But he was just a person. We were fighting against his ideas and his beliefs. Voldemort stood for anger, hatred and fear. He wanted us to be afraid. He wanted us to hate. He wanted us to fear Muggles. To fear Half Bloods. To fear each other. He wanted people to be divided. To fear each other, and to hate each other. Do you remember the Sorting Hat's poem two years ago. The Sorting Hat warned us. The Sorting Hat told us to 'unite'. The Sorting Hat was right. Let us always remember that there are differences between people. But the things people have in common are much more important than the things that make us different. We're all just people. Slytherins and Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, Wizards and Muggles, Full Bloods and Half Bloods. We are all brothers and sisters. Let us always remember that. Let us never let anyone make us fear each other again. So long as we remember that, so long as we reject his ideas, then we will truly be victorious over Voldemort, and the people who died that night will not have died for nothing."

Harry stopped speaking, and he sat down. As he sat down, he thought to himself, "Please…please….please…. please….don't applaud."

It was as if McGonagall could read his thoughts. Just at the exact moment that the Great Hall was about to explode into another round of clapping and chanting, McGonagall spoke again:

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. You're right, of course. And you said it very well.

"Now students," McGonagall continued, pretending to be stern, "if you continue to interrupt me like this, we will never get to eat dinner. I was down in the kitchens earlier, and the elves have whipped us up an extra special dinner that I am personally looking forward to eating. So, please try to minimize the interruptions.

"As I was saying, there are certain things I want you to know. As we have already established, Voldemort is dead." She held up her hand before anyone could clap or cheer again. She continued. "The Death Eaters are all locked up in Azkaban, and the dementors are back under the control of the Ministry of Magic."

"When I say that the Death Eaters are in Azkaban, that includes the Carrows." McGonagall didn't even bother to hold up her hand because she knew it would be no use. The students cheered, clapped and whooped again when they heard the Carrows were in Azkaban. A couple of fireworks flew across the room, but McGonagall ignored them.

"I will continue. Now I wish to speak to you about my friend and colleague, Severus Snape."

There was murmuring in the Great Hall. McGonagall had called Snape her "friend and colleague." But Snape was a Death Eater. Snape had murdered Dumbledore. Snape had become the Headmaster at Hogwarts working for Voldemort. The Carrows had tortured students with Snape in charge. It was true that some of the students had heard rumors that maybe Snape had really been working for Dumbledore, but they were just rumors. And it didn't make sense. How could Snape have been working for Dumbledore if he killed Dumbledore? Did Dumbledore want to die? The murmuring in the room continued.

"Let me continue," said McGonagall, and the Great Hall became silent. "Severus Snape was a hero. He pretended to work for Voldemort for many, many years while he was secretly helping Professor Dumbledore. Professor Dumbledore was already dying, from an incurable illness. Professor Snape killed Professor Dumbledore because Professor Dumbledore ordered him to. And it was still perhaps the hardest thing Professor Snape ever had to do. He was Albus Dumbledore's friend.

"When Voldemort decided that Professor Snape should become headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Snape followed Professor Dumbledore's orders, and spent this year keeping all of you students as safe as possible without the Death Eaters ever finding out that he wasn't one of them. He protected all of us. Severus Snape was always loyal to Professor Dumbledore, and devoted to Hogwarts. Professor Snape was murdered by Voldemort last week. Severus Snape sacrificed so much for so many years to help fight Voldemort. He was a true hero, and we should all remember him that way."

The room was silent, as everyone thought about what McGonagall had just said. It was hard for many of them to think of Snape as a hero. But they trusted her.

"Next," McGonagall continued. "You may have noticed that the elves are wearing uniforms. As my first act as Headmistress of Hogwarts, I set all of the house elves free. They are free elves now, not slaves. They work for Hogwarts, and are paid a salary for working. They have certain responsibilities, and they are free to do what they want to do the rest of the time. You will all treat the elves with respect. I hope that is clearly understood by all of you.

"I am personally grateful to Hermione Granger for helping me to understand that the way we were treating the house elves simply wasn't right. A person is never too old to learn new things. Ms. Granger taught this old person something very important. Thank you, Ms. Granger." Hermione smiled at McGonagall and gave her a little wave.

"Next. With the Carrows locked up in Azkaban, we seem to be without a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher once again, as well as without a Muggle Studies teacher. There are only three months left in this school year, which is not enough time to hire new teachers. So this is what is going to happen. I will personally teach Defense Against the Dark Arts to 5th, 6th and 7th years. As for the students in years one through four, you will be taught Defense Against the Dark Arts for the remainder of this year by the newest member of Hogwarts's faculty. Please let me introduce you to…Student Teacher…Harry Potter."

Harry was shocked. "What the…" he started to sputter, as the crowd burst out into a round of applause, and another chant of "Ha…rry! Ha…rry!" Harry looked up at McGonagall in despair. She just smiled, nodded her head at him again, and waited for the noise to die down. Then she continued.

"I will continue to teach Transfiguration to students in years five through seven," continued McGonagall. But between my duties as Headmistress and teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, I won't have time to teach all of the Transfiguration classes. So, for the rest of this year, Transfiguration for years one through four, and all Muggles Studies classes will be taught by the best student Hogwarts has seen for many, many years. Please allow me to introduce you to…Student Teacher…Hermione Granger."

Hermione was stunned. But as the people in the room clapped for her politely, Hermione began to think, turned to Ron, and said, "You know, I know it's a big deal being a teacher when I'm really only a student, but I really think I can do this. You know I'm pretty good at Transfiguration. And I'm good at explaining stuff. I've probably taught you more magic than most of our professors put together."

She smiled. Ron glared.

"And this isn't even O.W.L. level stuff. It's just years one through four. I should be able to teach this fine. Muggles Studies shouldn't be a problem. I was raised by Muggles. That should be easy. Transfiguration will be the real challenge. I wonder if I should teach Transfiguration exactly the way Professor McGonagall did, or whether I should come up with my own lessons. I mean, of course she is an excellent teacher, but maybe there are certain things I can do to improve on her teaching methods. For example, did you notice how when she wanted us to transfigure an animal, she would have us put it on the table in front of us, before we picked up our wands. What if instead of doing it that way, I have the students hold the wand in one hand and the animal in the other hand. Well, not always. But if it's a small animal. Then, they can…"

Ron was laughing. Hermione stopped talking, and asked, "Ron, what are you laughing at?"

"Oh, nothing," said Ron, and he leaned forward and snogged her. Hermione snogged him back.

By then, the students had stopped applauding for Hermione, and McGonagall was ready to speak again.

"Students, this is the first meal we will be eating together at Hogwarts since we have been free of the Death Eaters, free of the Carrows, free of Voldemort. It is also the first meal most of you will be eating here since our house elves became free elves. You are all about to enjoy the taste of freedom."

McGonagall waved her wand, and the tables were covered with platters of roast beef, roast chicken, shepherd's pies, steak, Cornish pasties, lamb chops, kidney pudding, steak and kidney pie, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, and gravy. The smell was incredible. "Wow," said Seamus, "this is amazing."

"Wait till you taste it," said Neville.

All around the room, arms were flying as the students filled their plates with food as quickly as they could.

Whack. "Ow."

"Sorry, Hermione," said Ron. "I didn't mean to whack you in the head. I just couldn't wait to get to that shepherd's pie."

"We need to work on your table manners, sweetie," Hermione said, rubbing the sore spot on her head.

The room got very quiet, as the students were too busy filling their plates with food and wolfing it down to do much talking. They were extra hungry, because McGonagall's speech had gone on for so long. And they had never smelled or tasted food this good before.

Once Ginny had finished her first plate of food, and while she was filling her plate with another helping of mashed potatoes and gravy, she turned to Harry. "So, what do you think about teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it," said Harry. "My first thought was that this is kind of crazy, the idea of me being a teacher and all that. But then I realized something. This is basically what the DA was. I already know how to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. This will be the same. Only I won't have to do it secretly and I won't have to worry about Umbridge torturing me if she finds out. I think it could be fun."

"That's what I was thinking," said Ginny. "They'll be lucky to have you as their teacher."

"I guess," said Harry. "Well, at least I know one thing. I'll be better than Lockhart."

They both laughed, and filled their mouths with mashed potatoes and gravy.


	6. Chapter 6 - Marshmallows

It was eleven o'clock. Harry and Ron were sitting on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fireplace. They both looked up to see Hermione and Ginny tiptoeing down the staircase from the girls' dorms.

"Everybody ready?" said Harry, standing up.

"Looking forward to it, mate," said Ron.

"Let's get going," said Ginny.

"Well, I still don't think what we're doing is really right, but since you…"

Ron interrupted Hermione, by giving her a quick snog on her lips and she didn't get to finish her sentence. "She's ready," said Ron.

Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He looked at the map and said, "Good, everyone's in bed. Even Filch. Let's do it."

He pulled his invisibility cloak from under his gown and said, "Okay, Hermione, first do your stuff."

"Okay," said Hermione, pulling out her wand and sweeping it in a circle among the four of them. "Cruris Occaeco."

From mid-thigh to the ground, all of their legs totally disappeared.

"Nice work, Hermione," whispered Ginny.

"Thanks."

"Okay," said Harry, lifting the cloak. "Let's all get under." With their legs invisible, they were able to comfortably drape the cloak over their upper bodies, and four of them were able to walk even more comfortably than three of them had gotten used to in recent years.

"This is pretty roomy," said Ron.

"Ssh…" said Harry, as they made their way down the corridor. "People can still hear us. Filch is a very light sleeper."

They made their way out of the castle and down the path to Hagrid's hut.

"What exactly is our plan?" asked Ginny.

"Well," said Harry, "Hagrid is a very deep sleeper. So is Fang. We'll be able to hear them snoring when we get to within 100 feet of the hut. So, I think we just walk up to the front door, go in quietly, and look around. There's a full moon tonight so it should be light enough in the hut to see. If the window shade is still shut, Hermione can do a very mild "lumos" and we'll use her wand to see. If Hagrid wakes up, we'll just run out of the hut. He won't be able to see us, so he'll figure that the door just blew open or something."

"There's no wind out tonight," said Hermione.

"So what?" said Harry. "Either way, Hagrid won't be able to see us. Who cares what he thinks. He won't know that we snuck in."

"We've snuck into his cabin with the invisibility cloak before, mate," said Ron. "You don't think he might suspect something?"

"Who's side are you on here, Ron?" said Harry.

"All I'm saying is your plan doesn't seem exactly perfect."

"Why are you taking Hermione's side this time?" asked Harry. "She's already snogging you. What more do you want?"

Hermione elbowed Harry in the ribs.

"Oof," cried Harry.

"Ssh…", whispered Ginny.

"She elbowed me in the ribs," whispered Harry.

"You deserved it," said Ginny. "And by the way. Your plan doesn't seem exactly perfect to me either. Do you usually come up with better plans? I can't believe you actually managed to destroy all the horcruxes and Voldemort with these kind of lame plans."

"Wha…," Harry started to say, but Ron interrupted, laughing.

"We're just playing with you, mate."

"That's right," said Ginny. "After all that chanting at dinner tonight, we thought you needed someone to give you a hard time."

"It's not exactly a perfect plan," said Hermione, "but I'm sure it will be fine."

As they got closer to the hut, they saw light outside the front door.

"What's that?" asked Ron.

"Not sure," said Harry. "Let's get closer and see."

As they approached the hut, they saw that the light was a campfire. Hagrid, Grawp and Fang, were sitting around the campfire. Grawp was toasting giant-sized marshmallows on a huge stick, popping some into his mouth and feeding others to Fang. Hagrid was drinking huge mugs of fire whisky. And they heard sounds. Loud sounds. Awful sounds. They weren't the sounds of snores they expected to hear.

"What is that horrible racket?" said Hermione.

"I can't tell," said Ginny. "Let's get closer."

As they tiptoed closer to the cabin, they realized what they were hearing. Hagrid was singing. Sort of. It was a song that didn't have much of a tune. Or if it did, Hagrid wasn't a very good singer. They couldn't quite make out the words. They tiptoed closer and closer, until they could hear what Hagrid was sort of singing, sort of shouting, sort of screeching with no discernible melody between his loud laughs and belches.

 _I know you're coming here tonight_

 _I know you four never give up_

 _I bet you'll use the invisibility cloak_

 _I may not be smart but I know you guys well_

 _I'm sitting and watching the door of my hut_

 _If it opens, I'll know that it's you_

 _You might as well join us for a marshmallow or two_

 _'_ _Cause you're not getting into my hut tonight_

He finished singing his "song," took a swig of fire whiskey, and started it again

 _I know you're coming here tonight_

 _I know you four never give up_

"Blimey!" whispered Ron. "He's been sitting out here all night singing that over and over again?"

"I guess he knows us pretty well," said Harry. "We might as well just take off the cloak and join them for some marshmallows."

"No way," said Hermione, grabbing Harry's arm before he could pull off the cloak. "Then Hagrid will know we were really trying to sneak in."

"He already knows," said Ron. "Didn't you hear his song?"

"He doesn't _know_ it," said Hermione. "He thinks it. If we just leave, he'll never know for sure. But if we take off the cloak he'll really know that we tried to sneak into his hut. I don't want him to know that. It wasn't a really nice thing for us to do. Even if Hagrid is making a big joke out of it."

"All right, then let's turn around," whispered Harry, and they turned around and headed back to the castle.

"Well that was a major success," whispered Ginny as they snuck in the front door of the castle. "I waited all these years to go on one of your crazy, sneaky plans, and all we end up doing is walking down the path and back? Come on, guys, give me a little something here. Tonight was supposed to be an adventure. Let's not just go back to bed."

"What exactly do you want to do, Ginny?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Ginny, "but let's think of something."

Well…," said Hermione. "I have an idea. If you guys are up for it."

"What's that?" asked Ron.

"Well…," said Hermione. "I've been thinking about something for a while. I started thinking about it more after Ron and I went down there to get the basilisk fang."

"You mean the Chamber of Secrets?" said Ginny.

"Yeah," said Hermione.

"What about it?" asked Ron.

"Well…did you notice something about it? It's called the Chamber of Secrets. Why is that?"

"Because it was secret," said Ron. "Salazar Slytherin hid it so well that no one but Voldemort could find it for a thousand years. People didn't even believe it existed."

"Sure," said Hermione. "I suppose. But did you notice that it isn't called the Secret Chamber. It's called the Chamber of Secrets. That means the Chamber HAS secrets, not just that it IS a secret. What are the secrets? The only thing we found down there was a basilisk. If the basilisk is one of the secrets, fine, but the basilisk is just one secret. It's called the Chamber of Secrets. Plural. Don't you think there must be other secrets in the chamber that we don't know about?"

"Like what?" asked Harry.

"I don't know," said Hermione. "But you didn't exactly have time to explore when you were down there. And when Ron and I went down to get the basilisk fang, we raced in and raced out. We didn't take any time to look around. If Ginny is looking for an adventure tonight, I say we sneak back down to the Chamber of Secrets now, and really explore the place. Er…that is, Ginny, if you feel up to it. I guess you had a pretty tough time last time you were down there."

"Actually," said Ginny. "I don't really remember almost anything that happened down there. Pretty much most of what I remember is waking up with Harry, and Fawkes flying us out of the Chamber, which was actually pretty cool. I'm fine going back down there again."

"Let's do it," said Harry, consulting the Marauder's Map again. "Coast is still clear. Girls bathroom on the second floor, here we come."

"Hi Harry," came the unmistakable voice of Moaning Myrtle, followed by giggling. "Where have you been? Oh… You brought THEM with you."

"Hi, Myrtle," said Harry. "I've been kind of busy."

Myrtle began to wail. "Of course you've been too busy to visit your friend Myrtle. Everyone's too busy to visit Myrtle. Why should you visit Myrtle? After all, I am….dead….." and she began to wail even louder.

"Calm down, Myrtle," said Harry. "It's not like that. I haven't been at Hogwarts for most of the year. I just got back last week."

"What were you doing?"

"Well, I was basically in a life and death struggle with Voldemort. Remember that boy who was in the bathroom the day you died? The one who made the basilisk look at you which killed you? Tom Riddle?"

"Yeah, he was soo handsome," giggled Myrtle.

"Well, he grew up to be the most evil wizard in history and he tried to kill me, but he died last week."

"Oooh….you almost died! That would have been great! You could have shared my toilet with me, Harry!"

"Yeah…well…I wasn't ready to live in a… I wasn't really ready to die yet. There are still a few things I want to do first."

"I'll be waiting for you, Harry. What are you guys doing in here anyway?"

"We're going to go down the pipe behind the sink and explore the Chamber of Secrets."

"Oh…," Myrtle started to wail again. "You didn't come to see me. You're just coming into my bathroom so you can go on an adventure." And Myrtle wailed louder, sailed around the room, then dove into the toilet bowl sending a splash around the entire room.

"Yuck," said Ginny, who had never experienced one of Myrtle's toilet bowl showers before.

"You get used to it," said Hermione.

Ginny wiped her face with her sleeve.

"Okay, Ron, do your stuff," said Harry. "You're the only one here who seems to be able to speak Parseltongue."

Ron made a hissing sound. Nothing happened.

"I think it was more like this," said Hermione, and she started hissing.

"I know what I'm doing," said Ron, and he hissed again. Still nothing happened.

"I think it was a little more high pitched and you used your throat more last time," said Hermione.

"I know what I'm doing," said Ron, "just let me focus."

Ron hissed one more time. All of a sudden the sink started to recede into the floor and a large pipe started to appear.

"You did it!" cried Hermione.

"Why do you always sound so surprised," said Ron.

"Let's go," said Harry. And he jumped into the pipe and slid down followed by the other three.

When they landed at the bottom, they looked around. The last time Harry had been there was at the end of his second year. Boy did it feel different that time. Then, students were being petrified left and right. Hermione was in the hospital wing. Ginny had been taken to the Chamber, and was near death. Harry was in a life and death struggle with Tom Riddle and a basilisk. Now, he was with his three best friends in the same Chamber of Secrets, but they were all perfectly safe, just off on a little, fun adventure.

"ROAR….."

All of a sudden, they heard the sound of a giant basilisk, just a few feet away from them just around the bend of the tunnel. Harry jumped, and pulled out his wand. Ginny screamed, and pulled out her wand. Ron jumped and screamed and pulled out his wand. Hermione, who was already holding her wand, just stood there…smiling.

"Hermione, there's a basilisk!" yelled Ron.

Hermione just stood there smiling back at him.

Everyone looked at Hermione, smiling, and then realized that they had only heard one basilisk roar. Now it was quiet.

"Okay, Hermione, what's going on?" asked Harry.

"I was just practicing a little ventriloquism charm to scare the daylights out of the three of you," she said. "You were great, Won Won. You jumped and screamed at the same time."

"Cut it out," said Ron. "That wasn't funny."

"Okay," said Hermione.

"By the way, Harry, did you hear?" said Ron. "The N.E.W.T.s have all been cancelled for this year."

"They what?" cried Hermione. "But they can't be. I was planning…" Hermione saw that Ron was grinning at her.

"Oh," she said, "I get it."

"Enough goofing around, guys," said Ginny. "We have secrets to find."

Together the four of them made their way down the tunnel to the main chamber, where the remains of the dead basilisk still lay, a statue of Salazar Slytherin at the far end of the room. On either side of the statue, there was a tunnel.

"I never went in either of those tunnels," said Harry. "That's where we should start exploring. Let's try the left one first. We need light."

"Lumos," they all said together, and four wands were ready to light their way. As they headed along the tunnel, they passed the remains of small animals but nothing else. They kept going through the tunnel around one bend after another. All of a sudden, Ron yelled, "Look at that!", and started running with the other three following.

Along the right wall of the stone tunnel was a large wooden door. A door with no door knob. No handle. Just a wooden door framed in the stone wall, with no obvious way to open it. "Alohamora," said Hermione, pointing her wand at the door. Nothing happened. "Expulso," cried Harry. Still nothing. "Deprimo," cried Ron. Still nothing. Everyone looked at Ginny. "I'm just a sixth year. What do you expect from little old me?" she said smiling.

"Come on," said Harry, grinning at her. "You were one of the best in the DA. Give it your best shot."

"Okay," she said, thinking, and then brandished her wand and yelled, "Reducto!" Nothing happened.

"Nice try, Gin," said Ron,

"Wait, what's that?" said Ginny pointing near the bottom of the door.

All four knelt down to get a better look. Near the bottom of the door, there was writing scratched into the door. They held their wands in front of them to make it easier to read the small writing. When they read it, they couldn't believe their eyes.

 _No Secrets Here. Try the other one._

"Huh," said Ginny.

"The other what?" said Harry.

"Maybe it means the other tunnel," said Ron.

"Good thinking," said Hermione.

"Why do you always sound so surprised?" said Ron.

"Come on guys, let's go check out the other tunnel," said Harry. ""Seems like whoever wrote that is trying to have some fun. Like a mystery or a treasure hunt or something."

"Er…before we go," said Ginny, "I have a question."

Everyone looked at her.

"How exactly are we going to get out of the Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked at each other nervously. The first time they were in the Chamber of Secrets, Fawkes had flown out carrying Harry, Ginny, Ron and Lockhart. When Ron and Hermione went down to retrieve the basilisk fang, they brought a broomstick with them. But somehow, tonight, no one had thought to bring a broomstick.

"Oops," said Harry.

"What do you mean, 'oops'?" said Ron with a worried expression on his face. "What are we going to do, mate?"

"Why are you looking at me?" said Harry. "This was your girlfriend's idea," he said pointing at Hermione and smiling. "Why don't you ask her?"

"This is serious," said Ron. "Come on, Hermione, think. How are we going to get out?"

"I'm thinking," Hermione. "Do you think Accio would work down here?" she asked.

"This far down? I don't think so," said Harry, "but I'll give it a try. Accio broomstick."

They waited for a minute. Nothing happened. They waited for another minute.

"I think it would be here by now if it was going to come," said Harry. "What's your next idea, Hermione?"

"My what? What makes you think I have any idea how to get out of here."

"I have total confidence in you," said Harry, smiling.

"Mate, why do you think this is funny. We are trapped in the Chamber of Secrets. We could be stuck in here forever."

"Worse than that, Ron," said Harry. "You could miss breakfast tomorrow morning if we're stuck here all night."

"This is not funny," said Ron.

"Actually, I'm getting kind of nervous," said Ginny. "Why are you staying so calm?"

"Guys," said Harry. "We survived the war with Voldemort. After that, a little thing like this doesn't seem like such a big deal. I'm sure our Hermione will figure something out. After all, they've never invented a spell our Hermione can't do." He kept on grinning. Hermione punched him in the arm.

"Wait!" said Hermione. "The answer is a flying charm. The kind they use to enchant broomsticks and magic carpets. We can charm something down here and fly it out."

"Great idea," said Harry.

"There's just one little problem," said Hermione.

"What's that?" asked Ginny.

"Do any of you guys know how to do a flying charm?" asked Hermione.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron. "Don't you?"

"Have you ever seen me do a flying charm?" asked Hermione. "Have you noticed it in any of our Charms books? Have you ever heard me talk about doing a flying charm? How would I know how to do a flying charm?"

"Are you saying you don't know how to do one?" asked Ginny.

"Well, not exactly. I was once reading an advanced Charms book in the special collections in the library, and there was a page in it on flying charms. I looked at it for a minute. But I didn't pay that much attention to it. And I never tried to do one."

"Do you remember what the page said?" asked Ron.

"That's the problem," said Hermione. "I sort of can picture the page in my head. I'm trying really hard to remember what the page said. The image in my head is kind of fuzzy."

"Try harder," said Ron.

"Snapping at me isn't going to help me think," said Hermione. "Why don't you rub my shoulders? I always think better when I'm having my shoulders rubbed."

"Might as well do it, mate," said Harry, "if you ever want to get out of here."

So Ron walked around to behind Hermione and started to rub her shoulder while she stood thinking and Ginny and Harry watched.

"I think it would help me think better if you rubbed Ginny's shoulders," said Hermione, smiling.

"Yeah," said Ginny. "I have a little pain right there," she said pointing to her right shoulder. "I think my pain may be interfering with Hermione's thinking."

"You girls," said Harry, smiling and walking around behind Ginny to rub her shoulders.

"That's good, Ron," said Hermione. "I'm thinking better now. Keep going."

Ron just grunted and continued rubbing her shoulders.

"Ginny, how is Harry doing?" Hermione asked.

"Just great," said Ginny.

"Good," said Hermione. "My head is starting to clear. Just a little bit more, and I think I might remember."

After a few more minutes, Hermione said, "Volaro. That's it. It's Volaro. Come on, let's go find something to charm."

They all ran out of the tunnel back to the main chamber. They looked around, and all they could see was a basilisk skin.

"We can use part of this, and turn it into a flying carpet," said Hermione. "Diffindo," she said pointing her wand at the skin. A piece on one end, just the right size to hold the four of them, ripped off from the rest of the skin. "Volaro," Hermione said, pointing her wand at the skin.

Immediately, the skin rose slowly and hovered a foot off the floor of the chamber.

"You did it!" cried Ron.

"Why do you always sound so surprised?" said Hermione.

The four of them jumped onto the skin, Hermione pointing her wand, and they started to fly down the long tunnel that would lead out of the Chamber of Secrets.

"Wee…this is just like magic," yelled Ginny.

Harry laughed.

The flying skin reached the tube that leads up to the girls' bathroom and flew up it like a rocket until they emerged in the bathroom, and jumped off the skin.

"Oh," moaned Myrtle when she saw them. "I was hoping you were going to die," she said.

"Thanks," said Harry. "I appreciate the thought."

"I'm pooped," said Ginny. "Time for bed."

"Do you realize," said Harry, "that we forgot to search the second tunnel?"

"Another time, sweetie," said Ginny, yawning with her eyes half closed. "I'm getting sleepy."

"Let's get rid of this before someone sees it," said Harry. "Reducto." The skin burnt up and disappeared.

The four of them got back under the invisibility cloak, and headed for Gryffindor Tower. As they approached the doorway, they noticed the Fat Lady quickly close her eyes and pretend to be asleep.

"Pygmy puff," said Harry.

"Aaaar…" groaned the Fat Lady. "What are you doing out so late? Why did you have to wake me up?"

"We're tired," said Harry. "Can you just let us in?"

The Fat Lady shrugged, closed her eyes again, and the painting swung open.

As they approached the staircases to the dorms, and were about to go their separate ways, Ron stopped and asked: "Hermione, tell me the truth. Did you really forget how to do the flying charm? Or were you just trying to get a back rub?"

"What do you think?" asked Hermione. She gave Ron a good night kiss. Ginny gave one to Harry. And they turned, and walked arm in arm up the staircase to the girls' dorm.

"Girls," said Ron.

"Yeah, girls," said Harry, smiling, and the two of them went up to bed.

* * *

A/N: more chapters on their way


	7. Chapter 7 - Expelliarmus

Harry found himself standing in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, facing a classroom filled with wide-eyed first years. He had only found out at dinner the previous night that he was going to become a teacher, and he had stayed up ridiculously late in order to satisfy Ginny's desire for an adventure. He was so tired that he couldn't stop yawning, and he was totally unprepared. But he had something he didn't have the day of his first DA meeting – confidence. Harry was pretty confident. At the first DA meeting, he had no idea what he was supposed to do. But now he knew he was actually a good teacher. He knew he had trained his fellow students well, and that they had applied all the skills he had taught them successfully in the Battle of Hogwarts. So this time he wasn't nervous.

"I don't know your names yet," said Harry. "So when I call on you, please state your name.

"Let me begin by saying, 'welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts'. I know it is already March, and you have been in this class all year. But let me be very clear with you about something. You have not been learning Defense Against the Dark Arts. Can someone tell me what you have been learning?"

A bunch of hands shot up. Harry pointed to a small girl with brown hair in the second row.

"We have…"

"Name please," said Harry. He realized he was acting and sounding very much like a teacher. Just a few years ago he had been an 11-year-old sitting in the classroom awed by the teachers in the front of the room. Now he was the teacher, and he realized that the kids who were looking at him didn't see him as a kid. They saw him as a teacher. That made him feel pretty cool.

"Myrna Eldridge."

"Please continue, Miss Eldridge."

"We have been studying the Dark Arts."

"Correct, Miss Eldridge. And can you tell us what the Dark Arts are?"

"The Dark Arts, also known as Dark Magic, refers to any type of magic that is mainly used to cause harm. The Dark Arts encompass many spells and actions ranging from using the Unforgivable Curses to brewing harmful or poisonous potions to breeding Dark creatures such as Basilisks, and its practice is generally illegal. Practitioners are referred to as Dark wizards or witches."

Harry couldn't help breaking into a smile. Myrna reminded him so much of another eleven-year-old girl he once knew who could recite facts as if she were a textbook. "What house are you in, Miss Eldridge?" asked Harry.

"Gryffindor." Harry smiled more.

"Well, take ten points for Gryffindor."

Myrna beamed. Harry continued.

"Who can tell me what the Unforgivable Curses are?"

Myrna's hand shot up the quickest. She held it so high it looked like it was pulling her out of her chair. Harry smiled again, and looked around the room waiting for other hands to go up. He pointed to a boy in the back row.

"There are…"

"Name please, and your house," said Harry.

"I'm Fred Weaston, from Ravenclaw." Harry winced a bit as he heard the beginning of Fred's name. It sounded for an instant as if the boy was going to say a different name, one that brought up deep emotions in Harry. Harry tried not to show his reaction.

"Go on Fred."

"There are three Unforgivable Curses, the killing curse, the imperius curse, and the cruciatus curse."

"Very good, Mr. Weaston. And why are they called the Unforgivable Curses?"

"Because they are unforgivable and…"

As Fred spoke, Harry's mind was drawn back to the class in which the teacher who he thought was Mad-Eye had discussed the unforgivable curses. Even though he knew it wasn't Mad-Eye, all year Harry had thought it was. And the fake Mad-Eye had really been kind to him. Remarkably, Harry still had affectionate feelings when he remembered the year he had spent thinking he was getting to know Mad-Eye even though it wasn't really him. Harry interrupted Fred and finished the sentence for him:

"Earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban," said Harry. "Correct. Take ten points for Ravenclaw." Harry realized immediately that he needed to stop giving out points every time a kid answered a question correctly. It was fun, it made him feel like a real teacher, it made him feel a different kind of power than he had ever felt before. Not magical power. Just the power of having a bunch of kids looking up to him as if they thought he could do anything. They were counting on him, and he wanted to do a really good job.

"Okay," said Harry, "we're going to start by working on what I consider to be one of the most useful spells in fighting against the Dark Arts. The disarming spell. Who can tell me what the incantation is? Yes, Miss Eldridge."

"It's Expelliarmus. It's pronounced like this – expelliARmus - with the accent on the "ar". Some people say it like this – exPELLiarmus – but that's not right."

Harry smiled again. It wasn't her. She didn't look like her. But she sounded so much like her. "Okay, we're going to practice it. I want everyone to stand up, choose a partner, and find a place to work where you have room and don't accidentally zap the wrong person."

No one got up. Harry noticed that the kids had gotten fidgety in their chairs and there was some whispering going on.

"What's going on?" asked Harry.

No one answered. Finally, Myrna said: "Professor Potter." That sounded so weird to Harry. "Last night, Professor McGonagall said you used 'Expelliarmus' to kill Voldemort. I think we're a little scared."

"I see," said Harry. "Is that right?" he asked, looking around the class.

The first years nodded nervously.

"Okay, let me ask you something. Did Professor McGonagall actually say that I used Expelliarmus to kill Voldemort? Think hard. What did she actually say last night?"

There was quiet for what seemed like a long time even though it was only a moment. Then Fred raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Weaston."

"She said that Voldemort cast the death curse at the same time you cast Expelliarmus and that his spell bounced back and killed him."

"That is correct," said Harry. "Expelliarmus did not kill Voldemort. I did not kill Voldemort. Voldemort's own spell killed him. Expelliarmus is not an attacking spell. It is a defensive spell. You use it to protect yourself, not to hurt people. Now everyone get up."

Pretty soon spells were flying around the room and things were flying off shelves. Occasionally, someone would cast the spell something close to correctly, and when they did, Harry would say, "nice work" or "good job." But mostly, he spent the rest of the class gently correcting students' wand work, body positioning and pronunciation, and ducking to avoid the stuff that kept flying off the walls, shelves and tables.

After about 45 minutes, he said, "Okay, nice work class. See you back here tomorrow." He really didn't think they had been so good. But he wanted to be encouraging. Had he and his class been this bad at it when they were eleven? He couldn't remember. Had he ever been as young and small as the kids he was working with? He knew he must have been, but couldn't remember it all that well. All in all, he thought he had done a decent job on his first day. After lunch, he would meet his second year class. He headed to the Great Hall.

"How did it go, mate?" asked Ron with his mouth full, as he wolfed down a roast beef sandwich, grabbing a second one while still chewing the first.

Hermione looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"I think it was pretty good," said Harry. "It felt a little weird. There's a boy in Ravenclaw named Fred Weaston." Ron froze for a second when he heard the name. "And there's a girl in Gryffindor who…." Harry looked at Hermione.

"Who what?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, nothing," said Harry.

"So how did they do?" asked Ginny.

"Well, actually, they're pretty bad. I can't believe we were ever this bad."

"We were pretty bad at first," said Ron. "Well most of us," he added, looking at Hermione.

She beamed.

"Ron, you'll say pretty much anything to keep that flow of snogging coming nicely, won't you?" said Harry.

Hermione picked up a carrot and reached back to throw it at Harry across the table. But Harry was faster. "Expelliarmus," he whispered, flicking his wand toward Hermione. The carrot flew out of her hand, into the air, made a graceful arc, and as Harry leaned back and opened his mouth, it landed in his mouth. He took a crunchy bite and said, "Now that's more like it. If I can teach these kids to do an Expelliarmus like that, I'll know I did my job well."

"Remember," said Hermione. "It may be late in the year, but these kids haven't been learning Defense Against the Dark Arts all year. For them, it's really like it's September and they're just starting at Hogwarts. You've got a lot to teach them. Just be patient."

"Harry," asked Ginny, "with all the classes you're going be teaching, how are you going to have time to go to your own classes and prepare for the N.E.W.T.s?

"I was thinking that myself," said Harry, "so I asked McGonagall after breakfast this morning. She said I didn't need to worry about going to my own classes, and that I had a friend who was a very good teacher who would teach me in her spare time." Harry looked at Hermione and grinned.

"Spare time!? Do you know how many classes McGonagall expects me to teach?"

Harry looked at Hermione, and made puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, Harry," she said, "Of course I'll teach you. But you'd better pay attention during my lessons and not be a wise guy."

"Yes, Professor Granger."

"And do your homework."

"Yes, Professor Granger."

"And show up for class on time."

"Yes, Professor Granger."

Everyone laughed.

"I've got to go," said Hermione, taking her last bite of chicken salad sandwich. "It's almost time for my first Muggle Studies class."

Hermione found herself standing in front of the Muggle Studies classroom facing a group of third years from Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

"Good afternoon, class."

Simultaneously, the whole class said, "Good afternoon, Professor Granger."

Professor Granger? That sounded good. Hermione had enjoyed the DA, she had learned a lot from Harry, but secretly she had always been a little jealous. She had always wondered if maybe, just maybe, she could have taught the group a little bit better. Described how the spells worked a little more precisely. Pronounced the incantations a little more exactly. Now she had her own chance to be in charge, to have a group of kids looking up to her, expecting so much from her, and she felt ready.

"Class. I want to find out a little bit about what you have learned so far in Muggle Studies this year from…." Hermione couldn't bring herself to say "Professor Carrow" since Alecto Carrow was no professor, so she just said "…from your previous instructor."

"Would someone share with me something they learned?"

Nobody moved.

"Anyone?" said Hermione.

There was silence.

"Do all of you know that my parents are both Muggles?" asked Hermione.

The class nodded.

"Are you afraid to tell me what your previous teacher told you about Muggles?"

The class nodded.

"You don't need to be afraid," said Hermione. "I will not be offended by anything you tell me. I just want to get some idea of where to start."

There was silence.

"Okay," said Hermione. "Let's try this differently. How about if I try to guess?"

No response.

"Fine. Did Alecto Carrow by any chance tell you that Muggles are dirty?

At first nothing happened. Then, a few of the students nodded tentatively.

"Okay, we made some progress," said Hermione. "Let's try something else. Did Alecto Carrow tell you that Muggles are like animals?"

A few more students nodded, less tentatively.

"Did she say that Muggles are inferior to wizards?"

This time the whole class nodded.

"Great," said Hermione with a smile. "Now we're making real progress. Did Alecto Carrow tell you wizards should rule the world and Muggles should be our slaves?"

The class got more relaxed and people were nodding and started to actually speak out loud and say "yes".

"Did she tell you that Muggles drove wizards into hiding by being vicious towards us?"

Now, pretty much the whole class answered her, "yes."

"Excellent," said Hermione. "Thank you for answering me. Now, let me ask you a question. Did you believe everything she told you about Muggles?"

Again there was silence.

"Don't be afraid to speak, students," said Hermione.

One girl raised her hand. "It's not that we believed everything she said," said the girl. "Professor Carrow seemed very angry. She seemed to hate Muggles. It didn't seem like she was giving us very accurate information about them. But, you see, we don't really know anything about Muggles. So we don't really have any way of knowing what to believe. Like, maybe some of the stuff she told us was true. We're just not sure."

"Excellent answer," said Hermione. "What's your name and house?"

"I'm Karen James from Hufflepuff."

"Five points for Hufflepuff," said Hermione. "Class, Ms. James is right. You don't know what you should believe. You have no way of knowing. Just because Alecto Carrow is a Death Eater, doesn't necessarily mean that everything she said is false. And just because I'm not a Death Eater, doesn't necessarily mean everything I'm going to teach you is true. I'm going to try to give you the most accurate information I can, but you should never accept something as truth just because someone tells you it is."

"Professor Granger," said a student, "then how are we supposed to know what's true?"

"That's a great question," said Hermione. "Does anyone in the class have any ideas?"

A boy in the back raised his hand. "Read lots of books?"

Hermione smiled. "Yes, books are a great way to get information. And the more books you read the more sources of information you have. Anything other ideas?"

A girl in the front row raised her hand. "Talk to different people?"

"Sure," said Hermione. "Especially people you trust, people who seem to be interested in getting their facts right. Other people are great sources of information. Anything else?"

Another boy raised his hand. "How about spending time around Muggles? Seeing for ourselves what they're really like."

"Excellent idea," said Hermione. "There's no substitute for observing things with your own eyes and ears if you want to learn about something. In the meantime, you're stuck with me, so let's start talking about Muggles.

"The first thing I want to tell you is that everything Alecto Carrow told you was not wrong."

The class gasped.

"Almost everything," said Hermione, "but not everything. For example, it is not true that Muggles are dirty. They bathe just the way wizards do. Some bathe more often and some bathe less often, just like us. Personally, when I was a little kid, my parents gave me a bath every day. Frankly, I think they bathed me too much. I was an exceptionally clean kid, but I think I had pretty dry skin because of all the soap they rubbed on it."

The class laughed. After a tense beginning of the class, the students were starting to relax. They had heard that Hermione was very serious. She seemed serious to them. But she also seemed nice. And kind of funny. Hermione continued.

"But there is something Alecto Carrow told you that is true. In the past, some Muggles have been pretty vicious toward witches and wizards. And it's true that this did lead the wizarding world to live in secret. Does anyone have any idea why Muggles would have treated us this way?"

"They don't understand our powers?" said one girl.

"They're afraid of us?" said a boy.

"Both good answers," said Hermione. "That doesn't make it right. Muggles have done some pretty nasty things to witches in the past. It was wrong. But it helps to at least understand why they did it.

"Enough about Alecto Carrow. Now let's start learning about Muggles. Can anyone tell me what electricity is?"

"How did Defense Against the Dark Arts go this afternoon?" asked Hermione, sitting across from Harry at the dinner table in the Great Hall.

"It was better than this morning," said Harry. "It was a second year class. At least they had Snape last year, so they actually learned some stuff before the Death Eaters took over. One kid almost did a proper Expelliarmus."

"Almost?" said Ron.

"Yeah. It came close to knocking my wand right out of my hand. I felt it whiz really close to my wrist."

"Where did it end up?" asked Ron.

"Well, it kind of knocked the wand out of the hand of this kid who was standing behind me and sent it flying into the forehead of the girl he was working with. She got scratched pretty badly, so I sent her to the hospital wing."

"That doesn't sound so bad," said Ron.

"Well, that's not all," said Harry. "You see, he had just said 'Expelliarmus' as the wand got knocked out of his hand so his spell went off in the wrong direction as it flew out of his hand and knocked the chandelier off the ceiling. The chandelier shattered and four kids got stuck with glass, so I had to send them to the hospital wing also."

"Oh," said Ron.

"Is that all?" asked Hermione.

"Not quite," said Harry. "When the chandelier crashed, all the kids who got hit by the glass were in the middle of casting their spells, and the spells went all over the room. A painting fell off a wall and landed on one kid's head, giving him a concussion."

"Hospital wing?" asked Ginny.

"Yup," said Harry. "Another kid got hit in the face by a spear that shot out of a knight statue that was hanging on another wall. Gave him a big gash."

"Hospital wing?" asked Hermione.

"Yup," said Harry. "Another kid got whacked in the belly pretty badly by a stone that came flying out of the wall."

"We get the picture," said Ron. "Exactly how many kids ended up in the hospital wing?"

"Well…er…" Harry smiled sheepishly.

Just then, Madam Pomfrey came storming into the Great Hall heading right for Harry with fire in her eyes.

"I had a feeling this was coming," muttered Harry under his breath.

"HARRY POTTER," she yelled at him sounding more like a howler than a person. "DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU MANAGED TO SEND EVERY SINGLE STUDENT IN YOUR CLASS TO THE HOSPITAL WING? 70 STUDENTS?! HALF OF THE SECOND YEAR CLASS?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, MR. POTTER! YOU SENT MORE STUDENTS TO THE HOSPITAL WING IN ONE HOUR THAN I USUALLY SEE IN AN ENTIRE YEAR! BE MORE CAREFUL!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Harry.

Madam Pomfrey turned on her heels and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"You sent the entire class to the hospital wing? Nice work, mate," said Ron.

"Harry, you said it went BETTER than this morning," said Hermione.

"Yeah, well, they were doing better than the first years before that one particular Expelliarmus whizzed by me and…You know, I've never seen one spell do that much damage by accident. It was pretty cool. It almost felt like your brothers were in the room," he said, smiling at Ron and Ginny. They smiled back. It was good to be able to talk about Fred with some humor and not just with sad faces.

"How about you, Hermione?" asked Ron. "How did Muggles Studies go?"

"Not bad," said Hermione. "At the beginning it was kind of tense. I realized when the class started that they had spent most of the year learning the most horrible things about Muggles, about my parents. It felt weird standing there in front of a classroom of students who had been hearing such horrible things about my own family. And they felt uncomfortable with me. But once we broke the ice, it was fun. Can you believe that almost none of them knew what electricity is?"

"So," asked Ginny, "are we going back to the Chamber of Secrets tonight?"

"I can't tonight," said Hermione. "I'm starting to teach transfiguration tomorrow and I haven't had any time to prepare my lessons. I need to work on that after dinner. Plus, I'm supposed to be teaching your boyfriend. Harry, do you want to meet in the common room at 9:00 tonight to start?"

"I guess," said Harry, who wasn't looking particularly forward to studying.

"You two should do some studying yourselves, shouldn't you?" said Hermione, looking at Ron and Ginny. They both shrugged, as if to say, "I suppose, but I'd really rather go down to the Chamber of Secrets tonight."

"We'll go back really soon, I promise," said Hermione. "Gotta go." And she popped a cookie into her mouth and walked out.


	8. Chapter 8 -French Fries

Two weeks had passed, and everyone had gotten back into a rhythm. Ron and Ginny attended their classes, while Harry and Hermione taught theirs. Slowly, the students in Harry's second year Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been released from the hospital wing until finally they were all back in class. There were a number of scratches and bruises to remind everyone of their first class with Harry. At night, Harry and Hermione would prepare their lessons for the next day and still find time for Hermione to teach Harry a little. Ron and Ginny complained some that Harry and Hermione didn't have much time to hang out with them, but they seemed to understand.

Perhaps the brightest spot in Harry's life was that he finally was getting to play Quidditch again. Although that was one of the things about Hogwarts he loved the most, he really hadn't gotten to play much at all since his third year. During his fourth year, Quidditch had been cancelled because of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Fifth year, he had been "banned for life" by Umbridge. Sixth year he had become captain but was injured during the second game and in detention for the third game. Finally, now, he was the captain of the Gryffindor team again and playing Seeker. Ron was back in his role of Keeper. And Ginny, who was a pretty good Seeker, was playing Chaser again, the job she really liked. Ginny loved to throw the quaffle through the goal hoops and score points. Somehow, they all managed to find time to practice, and Hermione showed up for all of the practices. Hermione still didn't quite get why they loved to play Quidditch so much, but she would sit in the stands anyway and cheer them on.

Harry was standing in front of a class of third years. Next to him was a cabinet. All the students were staring at it, wondering what was inside.

"Students," said Harry. "Today we will begin to study boggarts. Who can tell me what a boggart is?"

A girl in the front row named Jacquelyn Jones raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Jones?"

"A boggart is a shape-shifting creature that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear."

"Correct. And what is the spell to fight a boggart?"

"It's ridd...riddi…something."

"That is correct," said Harry with a smile. "It is indeed 'riddi something'. Can anyone help Ms. Jones?"

A boy in the back row raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Sanford?"

"It's Riddikulus."

"Very good, Mr. Sanford. Five points for Ravenclaw. Mr. Sanford is right that Riddikulus is the correct incantation. But the incantation and wand movement alone will not affect a boggart. The correct way to perform Riddikulus is to push past your fear, and concentrate on something that will make the boggart look amusing. The spell doesn't actually repel the boggart. It just changes its appearance into something funny.

"Now line up in front of the cabinet, starting about 20 feet away. When it is your turn, look at the Boggart, push past your fear, say Riddikulus loudly and clearly, wave your wand like this, and think of the funniest, most ridiculous thing you can think of. Once the boggart changes, step aside and give the next student a chance."

One boy raised his hand. "What if it doesn't change, Professor Potter?"

"Then work harder and concentrate more," said Harry. Harry realized he was starting to sound like a real professor. He wondered if he was being too tough.

The students lined up in front of the cabinet, Jacquelyn Jones in front of the line. "Are you ready, Miss Jones?" asked Harry.

Jacquelyn held up her wand, stared at the cabinet, and sort of nodded.

"Don't be afraid, Miss Jones, just concentrate."

Harry opened the cabinet, and a large lion leaped out of the cabinet, opened its huge mouth baring its teeth, roared, and started charging toward Jacquelyn.

"Now, Miss Jones!" yelled Harry.

Jacquelyn waved her wand, yelled 'Riddikulus" and, all of a sudden, there was a small kitten standing in front of her, wearing a little diaper and drinking milk out of a little baby's bottle. The whole class laughed. "Good work," said Harry. "Next."

A boy took Jacquelyn's place and immediately the kitten disappeared and was replaced by a Hungarian Hornback. The dragon pulled back its head and stretched back its neck, coiling itself to spring at the boy. "Now!" yelled Harry.

The boy waved his wand, yelled "Riddikulus" and the dragon disappeared and a second Jacquelyn was standing there, except this Jacquelyn was dressed like a clown with a big red nose and orange hair. The whole class laughed, except Jacquelyn who scowled.

"Not nice," said Harry. "From now on, no doing real people. Next."

Another boy turned a giant bee into a bear standing on stilts and eating an ice cream cone. A girl turned a howling wolf into a large pink frog with purple polka dots. Voldemort appeared a bunch of times. One boy turned him into a monkey wearing yellow short pants and a pink tutu playing the flute. Another boy turned him into a Death Eater hanging upside down with his underwear showing. "I said no real people," said Harry sternly, although he thought it was kind of funny. Finally, the last girl on line stood there and watched the Death Eater turn into a cute yellow duck. The girl whimpered for a second, then waved her wand, cried ""Riddikulus", and the duck turned into a purple penguin doing a jig. Before the boggart could change again, Harry waved his wand, the purple penguin flew back into the cabinet, and the doors of the cabinet slammed shut.

"Class," said Harry. "You did great. Every single one of you. I'm very impressed. You've all made so much progress over the past two weeks that I think you're ready to start dueling lessons in our next class. Have a nice lunch."

As the students began to file out of the classroom to head to lunch, clearly excited about starting dueling, Harry noticed some of the boys still had their wands out as they headed to the door and seemed to be a little too eager.

"Gentlemen!" yelled Harry from the front of the room. "Remember, no spells are allowed in the corridor. And no dueling is allowed anywhere without the supervision of a faculty member. Put your wands away!"

Harry smiled to himself at the thought that he was the one enforcing the rules, when he still enjoyed breaking them himself. "Ms. Frank," he called to Gladys Frank before she left the classroom. "May I have a word with you."

Gladys walked back to the front of the room to where Harry was standing. "Yes, Professor Potter."

"Can I ask you a personal question? In general, most people don't find ducks to be especially scary. Especially, cute, little yellow ducks. Can you explain to me why the boggart changed into a duck for you?"

Gladys smiled. "Well, I know it's unusual, and it's a bit embarrassing. But, you see, when I was two years old, I had a favorite teddy bear. I slept with it every night. I carried it everywhere. And then, as a joke, when my parents weren't looking, my older brothers turned it into a duck. Ever since then, I've been terrified of ducks."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. He just stared at her. Then he smiled. "I understand, Ms. Frank. Have a nice lunch."

At lunch, Ginny, Hermione and even Ron had a good laugh over the duck story. Then Ginny said, "Guys, it's been two weeks. When are we going back to the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I guess we can go tonight," said Harry. "After dinner, and Quidditch practice, and my class with Hermione. How about if we all meet in the common room at say, eleven?"

Hermione hesitated. "I really should spend the time preparing my lessons for class tomorrow."

"Hermione," said Ginny. "You've only got a little time left at Hogwarts. You can't just work. Seventh year is supposed to be the most fun. You've got to make time to play a little."

Hermione smiled. "Okay, I'm in."

Ron mumbled something unrecognizable with his mouth stuffed with a gigantic bite of a hamburger. While he mumbled, a piece of hamburger and some pickle fell out of his mouth onto his plate.

"Nice, Ron," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

"What did you just say, mate?" asked Harry. "We couldn't understand you through all that food."

"Wait a second," Ron mumbled, shoveling a handful of French fries into his mouth with the hamburger that was already there. "These fries are great," he added, although with his mouth so loaded up with food it sounded more like "Rees rise are rate."

Hermione whacked Ron in the shoulder. "Ow," he said, "what was that for?"

"How can you be this hungry all the time? And when are you going to get some table manners?"

"When are you going to learn how to play Quidditch?" responded Ron, shoving another handful of French fries into his mouth. Some of the ketchup oozed out of his mouth and down his cheek.

"Why do I even bother?" said Hermione, rolling her eyes again.

"Hey Ron," said Harry, "what is it you were trying to say in the first place?"

"I said 'I'm looking forward to the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw this Saturday'," said Ron.

"Wow. You're actually looking forward to a Quidditch match? And without my even giving you a Felix Felicis placebo? This is a real change," said Harry.

"Hey," said Ron. "I helped destroy the Dark Lord. Stopping a quaffle doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore."

"That's the attitude, mate. I hear the Ravenclaw chasers are pretty good this year."

"Yeah," said Ginny, looking at Ron. "I've been watching them practice. They throw the quaffle harder than I've ever seen anyone throw it before."

"Yeah," said Harry, "and they are so accurate. I've never seen one miss the hoop."

Ron started to look nervous.

"We're just kidding," said Harry.

"Yeah," said Ginny. "I've seen them play. They're fine. But nothing special."

"You guys were actually trying to make me get nervous about playing Quidditch?" said Ron, looking startled. "That's a major change."

"We're just not used to seeing you so confident," said Harry. "It seemed a little weird so we tried to get our old Ron back for a second."

"Well, this is the new Ron," said Ron, "so get used to it." And he shoveled some pie into a mouth that was still filled with French fries and a little hamburger.

"At least we can be thankful that some things about you aren't new," said Hermione. "See ya later, Won Won." And she got up from the table to prepare for her next class.

Hermione was standing in front of her first year Transfiguration class, with the young students listening to her every word. "You can cook food. You can move food. You can increase the amount of food. You can eat food. You can change food from one form to another. But you cannot create food out of nothing. Can anyone explain to us why?"

A hand shot up in the front row.

"Yes, Miss Eldridge," said Hermione.

"Because food is one of the the five principal exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration," said Myrna.

"Very good," said Hermione. "Five points for Gryffindor." Hermione stared at Myrna for a second. Myrna reminded Hermione of someone. Not the way she looked, but the way she sounded. There was something about her that was so familiar, but Hermione couldn't figure out what it was. "Oh well," Hermione thought.

"Class," she continued. "Today we will work on transfiguring food. Each one of you has a raw potato in front of you. Your job is to transfigure it into a French fry." Hermione laughed to herself. Ron loved French fries. She missed him during the day, now that they weren't in any classes together, so she had decided to work on French fries.

"Point your wand at the potato, move it like this, flick your wrist like that, and say "patata frigere," said Hermione.

She began walking around the room as wands flew amid a chorus of "patata frigere." She didn't see any French fries. One student turned the potato into a rock. One student's potato now had a face on it with a mustache. "Neat trick," said Hermione to that student, "if you could figure out how to do that on purpose. Try again." One student's potato grew whiskers. She worked with each student on their wand work, their pronunciation, but still no French fries. Finally, she said: "Class, stop." And she went back to the front of the room.

"Class, as I've told you before, Transfiguration is more than saying the right incantation and moving your wand correctly. The power of Transfiguration comes mostly from your mind. Did you taste those delicious French fries at lunch today?"

The class nodded.

"I want you to think about them. Taste them in your minds. Imagine their salty, potatoey, crispy flavor on your tongues as you crunch them in your mouths and chew them up. Now, try again."

Wands started to fly, and the room filled again with a chorus of "patate frigere" but this time potatoes started to change into French fries. Within five minutes, every single student had changed their potato into a hot, crispy French fry. Hermione herself was amazed. She never imagined the class would have done so well. She figured that maybe one or two students would be able to make French fries, and maybe a few others would have made some kind of a strange looking cooked potato, maybe a cross between a boiled potato and a tater tot, but this was really amazing. An entire class of first years had just transfigured perfect French fries.

"Class. That was amazing. You all did really, really, well," said Hermione.

"Can we eat them?" asked a boy from Gryffindor.

"Sure," said Hermione. She waved her wand, and little dish of ketchup appeared on each student's desk next to the French fry.

"Thanks, Professor Granger," said the boy.

The students gobbled down their French fries just as the class period game to an end.

"See you tomorrow," said Hermione.

As the class started to file out of the door in the back of the classroom, Hermione noticed Ron standing in the back of the classroom next to the doorway. She wondered what he was doing in her class, but didn't say anything while her students were in the room. They both just stood there, looking at each other while the students walked out the door. When the last student had left, Ron shut the door, walked over to Hermione, and said, "You're the one who's amazing, Hermione."

Hermione blushed.

"Seriously, Hermione. I heard the way you explained it to the kids. It was really amazing. My mouth started watering just listening to you."

"You're always hungry, Ron," said Hermione, still blushing.

"Seriously. McGonagall never even taught a class like this one. When we were first years, did you ever see the entire class transfigure ANYTHING correctly? You are a natural teacher."

"Thanks, Ron," said Hermione. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Since we don't have any classes together, I don't get to see you for most of the day and I miss you. I had a free period, so I decided to poke my head into your Transfiguration class and watch you teach."

"I miss you too, Ron," said Hermione. It was good the door was closed. The students walking down the hallway were spared the sight of one very long snog.

At dinner that night, most of the students were talking about the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw Quidditch match, which was just two days away.

"Do you think you can take them, Harry?" asked Neville.

"No problem," said Harry. "Especially with the best Chaser in the school on my team," he added, looking at Ginny.

Ginny blushed. "I'm not THAT good," said Ginny.

"Not that good?" said Harry. "You are one of the toughest players I've ever seen. You never get knocked off your broom no matter how hard you get hit. I've seen guys twice your size get knocked off their brooms by bludger shots that don't even slow you down. You get whacked hard and you just keep flying."

"Well, you kind of need to learn to be tough when you have a lot of older brothers," said Ginny.

"What's your strategy going to be, Harry?" asked Neville.

"No strategy," said Harry. "I'm getting used to operating without really great plans. It seems to work. We're just going to go out there, play our best, have fun and see what happens."

"If Oliver or Angelina could hear you now," said Neville, "they'd be pulling their hair out."

"You're probably right," said Harry. "But after this year, I just can't get all that worked up about a Quidditch match. I just want to have fun. And I guess, maybe, crush Ravenclaw at the same time."

"That's the spirit, Harry," said Neville.

"Guys," said Ron. "You should have seen Hermione in Transfiguration today. She was amazing!"

Hermione was blushing again. "Okay, Ron. That's enough. You don't need to go on and on about it."

"Yes I do," said Ron. "You should have seen it. Hermione taught an entire class of first years to turn a potato into a French fry. Every single kid did it. Then they ate them. I'm serious. She's even better than McGonagall."

"Ron, are you just trying to get her to…."

"…snog me?" said Ron. "No, Harry. She did that already."

Hermione elbowed Ron as if to say, "you don't need to tell everyone at the table about our snogging."

Ron went on. "I'm just very impressed with our Hermione's teaching skills."

"I know what you mean," said Harry. "I'm really learning quickly in the classes she's been giving me. I'm starting to think that with Hermione as my teacher, I might just be able to handle the N.E.W.T.s."

"Enough already," cried Hermione, blushing a deep shade of pink. "Stop talking about me."

"Suit yourself," said Ron, shoveling a large spoonful of mashed potatoes and gravy into his mouth which was already stuffed with meat loaf.

"Oh, brother," moaned Hermione watching the gravy dripping down his chin.

"She loves me," mumbled Ron almost incomprehensibly as he pushed a large spoonful of peas and carrots into his overloaded mouth.

At eleven o'clock, the four of them met in the Gryffindor common room. This time they had all brought their broomsticks.

"Do your thing, Hermione," said Ron, as Harry took out his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map.

Hermione flicked her wrist and their legs disappeared. "Non-verbal," said Ron. "Very cool."

"Thanks for noticing," said Hermione.

"Wait a second," said Ginny. "What about our broomsticks? We'll never be able to fit them all under Harry's cloak."

"Good point," said Hermione. With another flick of her wrist, the broomsticks all disappeared.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,"' said Harry, looking at his map. "Good. Coast is clear. Team, let's head out."

The four of them slipped under the invisibility cloak, and headed into the corridor. Pretty soon they were standing in front of the girls' bathroom.

"Now we have to deal with Myrtle," said Hermione. "Might as well get it over with."

They pushed open the door and walked in. "Who's there?" shouted Moaning Myrtle, flying in a big circle around the room.

"It's just us," said Harry as they slid off the cloak.

"Why did you have to bring THEM again?" moaned Myrtle miserably.

"Sorry, Myrtle," said Harry. "We have some more exploring to do."

"Aaaaaah….You didn't even come to see me…Again…just because I'm dead…Aaaah…" Splash. Everyone was dripping wet again.

"Okay, Ron, you're on," said Harry.

"Hermione, are you going to try to teach me Parseltongue again?" asked Ron sarcastically.

"I'll try to keep quiet this time," she said.

Ron walked over to the sink. After a little hissing, the sink sunk into the floor, and the four of them were sliding down the pipe. They got to the main chamber, and took the tunnel to the right of Slytherin's statue, their way lit by their wands. Again, they followed the tunnel, left and right passing little dead animals along the way. Finally, in the distance, they saw a second door. They broke out into a run. When they got to the door, they saw it was identical to the first door. A wooden door, framed in the stone tunnel with no door knob. This door also had writing scratched into it near the bottom. They knelt down to read it.

 _No Secrets Here. Try the other one._

* * *

A/N: Let me know what you think. More chapters coming.


	9. Chapter 9 - Quidditch

"Does it still hurt?" asked Hermione.

"A little, but it's okay," said Ron, as he shoved a third tuna salad sandwich too far into his mouth causing the mayonnaise to squeeze out and dribble down his chin.

"Here, try one of these," said Hermione. "They're called 'napkins'."

"Thanks, sweetie," said Ron. "Ginny, you're the one who really got zonked. How's your shoulder feeling?"

"Who cares about my shoulder?" said Ginny, grinning from ear to ear.

"I guess setting the Hogwarts record for scoring the most goals ever in a single game can soothe a lot of pain."

"You bet it can!" said Ginny.

Ginny had not stopped grinning since the afternoon before. Even after she got clobbered from behind by the bludger as she flung the quaffle at a Ravenclaw goal hoop, the grin never left her face. As she fell off her broom and came crashing to the ground on her right shoulder, the quaffle had gone through the hoop, scoring Ginny her final goal of the game and giving her the school record for the most goals ever scored. She had played a simply tremendous game. It was like she was in a zone. No one on the Ravenclaw team could stop her.

All three of them had played great games. Ron had stopped almost every attempt the Ravenclaw Chasers had made to score a goal. They scored only three goals the entire game. The first one was scored when Ron was waving to Hermione sitting in the stands. The second was scored while Ron was blowing a kiss to her. And the third was scored while he was looking at Hermione's hair and admiring it. Finally, Harry had yelled at Ron in exasperation. "Ron, she'll still be there when the match is over! Now keep your eyes in the boat and play some Quidditch!" But aside from those three moments of distraction, Ron had played his best game ever.

And to top it all off, Harry got the golden snitch. By the time he got it, Gryffindor was winning by so many points that there was no way Ravenclaw could possibly have caught up anyway, but it was still fun. First, Harry had executed a perfect Wronski Feint, just for the fun of it, sending the Ravenclaw Seeker to the hospital wing. Then, a few minutes after Ginny scored her final goal, he had spotted the snitch floating just over Ginny's head in the middle of the pitch. Feeling in the mood to show off, he had motioned to Ginny to stay perfectly still. With Ginny sitting on her broomstick in the middle of the pitch and the snitch floating just inches above her head, Harry took his broom into a steep climb almost vertically high above the Quidditch pitch. Then, he turned the tip of his broomstick to face the ground and dove at full speed straight down toward the ground several feet in front of Ginny. As he was about to pass her, he turned his broomstick up again sharply looking as if he was going to crash into her but instead flew at full speed several inches over her head grabbing the snitch as he went by. Holding the snitch in his hand over his head, he flew celebratory laps around the pitch, flew back to Ginny, bowed to her, and gave her a kiss. "Big show off," she said, smiling.

The Gryffindors had carried Ginny back to the castle on their shoulders singing "Weasley is our queen," and they partied late into the night in the Gryffindor common room. The next morning, everyone slept so late that they missed breakfast. Instead of eating lunch in the Great Hall, the four friends had decided to grab some food, and have a picnic down by the lake.

For a while, all they could talk about was yesterday's Quidditch match. Hermione listened for what seemed like hours as Ginny recounted the details of every single goal she had scored, and Ron described every time he stopped the Ravenclaw's quaffle. Hermione interrupted Ron at one point to ask, "Was your job supposed to be to stop the Ravenclaw's quaffle?"

"Of course it was," said Ron. "Don't you know anything at all about Quidditch?"

"I guess I must not," said Hermione sweetly. "Watching you, it seemed to me that your job was to sit on your broomstick staring at me."

Ron ignored her, shoveled some more food into his mouth, and started talking about the backhand stop he had made with his left hand, while hanging from his broom holding it with his right hand.

Finally, Hermione had enough. "Guys," she said. "It was great. It was fun to watch. You played amazing Quidditch games. You are all stars. I am proud to know such amazing Quidditch players as all of you are. Really. I am. But…can we please talk about something other than Quidditch for just a few minutes. Please?"

"Sure," said Harry. "What do you want to talk about?"

"The Chamber of Secrets," she said. "Have you guys been thinking about it?"

"Sure," said Harry, "but what's there to think about? It seems as if someone is playing a practical joke. Both doors say 'Try the other one.' It just leads to a circle."

"Is it possible that it was the same door both times?" asked Ginny.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron.

"I mean, is it possible we went through the same tunnel both times? The second time we took the right tunnel because we thought we took the left tunnel the first time. Maybe we got confused, and really took the right tunnel both times?"

"And all four of us remembered it wrong? That doesn't seem very likely," said Ron. "Do you remember taking the left tunnel the first time, Ginny?"

"Well, yeah," said Ginny.

"How about you guys?" Ron asked.

Harry and Hermione both nodded.

"So do I. I remember it as clear as day. I don't think all four of us would remember it wrong, Gin. There must be another answer."

"But who could be playing a practical joke?" asked Harry. "No one's ever been down there except for Salazar Slytherin, Tom Riddle, and us? I can't imagine Slytherin would have written those things on the door as a joke."

"If it's not a joke," said Hermione, "then it's a mystery. Like a treasure hunt. We need to figure it out."

"With a treasure hunt, you just follow the clues," said Harry.

"Okay," said Hermione. "Let's follow them. The first clue said, 'Try the other one.' The other what?"

"The other door," said Ron. "We did that."

"Okay," said Hermione. "Let's assume 'the other one' meant the other door, or the other tunnel. So we did that. What did the second clue say?"

"It said the exact same thing," said Ron.

"Precisely," said Hermione. "But we didn't follow the second clue."

"What do you mean?" said Harry.

"When we read the second clue, we got so frustrated that we gave up and went to bed. Do you think maybe we should have just followed it?"

"You mean we should have gone back to the first door?"

"The clue said 'try the other one'. Maybe we should have just done that instead of giving up. If it's a treasure hunt, you need to follow all the clues," said Hermione.

"So let's go back tonight and try it," said Ginny.

"I really, really, can't tonight," said Hermione. "I have way too much to do to prepare for my classes this coming week. And I need to get some sleep tonight. Especially after last night's party for my three heroes. I can't stand in front of all my classes yawning."

Ginny looked disappointed. "Don't worry," said Hermione, "I promise we'll go again really soon."

"You know, guys," said Harry. "We haven't really talked to Hagrid since that day we were in his hut, and tried to peak through his window."

"Or since the night he sang that awful song," said Hermione.

"Right. I feel a little bad. Why don't we go down to his hut and visit him again?" said Harry.

Since everyone had finished their lunch, they all got up and strolled down the path to Hagrid's hut. When they got there, Harry knocked on the door.

Wha… who… wait…hold on a sec…" The four of them heard the thumping sound of Hagrid scurrying inside the hut.

"It's us, Hagrid," called Hermione.

"Oh…wait…" They heard more scurrying.

"Er… come on in then… What are you waiting for?" said Hagrid.

Hermione opened the door, and they all walked in to find Hagrid sitting in his enormous chair at his table holding a cup of tea. Hagrid kept trying not to look at the even larger pile of old blankets in the corner of the room. But the more he tried not to look at them, the more he looked at them. They pretended they didn't notice.

"I'm jus havin myself a nice cup a' tea. Yup. Jus havin some tea. Would the lot a ya like to join me for a spot of tea?"

They gathered around the table for tea and treacle fudge.

"Where's Grawpy?" asked Hermione.

"Out playing with Fluffy," said Hagrid, looking nervously at the pile of blankets.

"Fluffy? Don't you mean Fang?" asked Hermione.

"Fluffy? Did I say Fluffy? No Fang, not Fluffy," said Hagrid. "Sometimes I say names wrong. You know how they both start with an "F" and they're both dogs and whatnot."

"Hagrid, are you nervous about something?" asked Hermione.

"Nervous…me…nah…everything is just fine," said Hagrid. "Just fine."

All of a sudden, there was a thunderous banging sound outside the hut.

"Ah, that'll be Grawpy and Fang coming back. It's just about time for Fang's afternoon nap."

The door opened. All they could see were the bottoms of Grawp's massive legs in the doorway. Then Fang came bounding in, jumped on Harry almost knocking his chair over, and then started to lick Harry's face with long wet strokes.

"Hi, Fang," said Harry, patting Fang on the head, and picking up a towel to dry off his soaking face. "There, go give the others some loving."

Fang immediately moved to Hermione, covered her shoulders with his massive paws and started licking her face. Pretty soon, Ginny and Ron were also soaking wet, and Fang trotted over to the fireplace looking tired and satisfied. He spun around a few times, lay down, gave himself one good long stretch, and fell asleep snoring on the floor.

"How's your Magical Care class going, Hagrid?" asked Ginny.

"Well, for the first week, it was pretty rough," said Hagrid. "The first years hadn't learned a thing about caring for magical creatures all year long. All they learned was that Death Eater garbage about how magical creatures are inferior, how they're dangerous, how they shouldn't be allowed to live near witches and wizards. Ridiculous stuff like that. At first, the first years were so scared of magical creatures that I couldn't even get them to pet a puffskein. But after I explained stuff to them for a while, they started to relax. Now that Buckbeak is back, I think I may start them on hippogriffs tomorrow."

The kids all looked at each other nervously. "Don't yeh all worry about it," said Hagrid. "That Malfoy boy is the only one who would be dumb enough to insult a hippogriff. These first years are a bunch of good kids with level heads. And they really listen to me. Buckbeak's not going to hurt anyone."

"Harry," Hagrid continued. "Do you realize that you are already a legend in the Hogwarts faculty. Nobody, no one, ever accomplished what you did. The other professors can't stop talking about it. Sending 70 students to the hospital wing in one class! Not even ole Hagrid ever managed to do that. And you know I've tried pretty hard," Hagrid laughed.

"Yeah, I was pretty proud of myself," said Harry with a smile.

"And what about our little Hermione," said Hagrid with a twinkle in his eye. "Everybody is talking about those French fries. People are teasing Professor McGonagall. Saying that you're a better Transfiguration teacher than she is."

"Uhm, what did McGonagall say about that?" said Hermione nervously. She loved Professor McGonagall, and thought McGonagall was the best teacher she had ever had. The last thing she wanted was for McGonagall to have bad feelings about her.

"Don't worry, Hermione," said Hagrid. "The headmistress is extremely fond of you. All she says to people is, 'Ms. Granger is the finest student I ever knew, and I expected her to be the finest teacher. Nothing can make a teacher prouder than to see her own student surpass her.'"

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then an owl flew through the window and dropped a note on the table between Ron and Ginny. It was addressed to "Ron and Ginny Weasley". They both reached for it at the same time. Ginny was faster, and she tore it open.

"It's George!" cried Ginny. "He says that since we didn't send him any owls" - Ginny and Ron looked at each other with a guilty expression. They had really meant to write to George. They had just forgotten to – "he's coming to visit. He says to ask McGonagall to drop the protective charms at 8 o'clock tonight after dinner so he can apparate into our common room. Do you think she'd do that?"

"Don't worry, Ginny," said Hermione. "McGonagall may not totally approve of his methods, but she has a soft spot for him. And she was really proud of how he and Fred stood up to Umbridge. I once heard her say to Flitwick that she's got to ask George Weasley how to make a Portable Swamp. I'm sure she'll let him visit."

At eight o'clock, Ginny and Ron were sitting in the Gryffindor common room waiting for George. Ron was playing Wizard Brickbreaker and Ginny was busy with her latest hobby, knitting. At first, Harry had been amazed when Ginny took up knitting.

"You have so much energy. How can you just sit still and knit?" Harry had asked.

"That's why I knit," said Ginny. "It's usually hard for me to sit still, but knitting is fun, and its relaxing, and it gives me a chance to just sit still and think about stuff. I really like it. Anyway, my mum does it, and someone needs to keep up the Weasley family tradition."

"But your mum uses magic," said Harry. "You're knitting with your hands like a Muggle."

"It's more relaxing this way."

Harry had stared quizzically at the unusually shaped lump of red yarn that was emerging from Ginny's rapidly moving needles. "So what exactly do you call this first knitting project of yours?" Harry had asked. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

"I call it a beautiful sweater that I'm knitting for my boyfriend," said Ginny. "And when it's done he's going to tell me how beautiful it is and wear it all the time proudly."

"Oh," said Harry. "Where does my head go?"

"Right there," said Ginny, pointing to a tiny whole in the lump of yarn about the size of a lemon.

"I see," said Harry. "And what are those two tiny little tubes that look sort of like straws?"

"Those are the holes for your arms," said Ginny indignantly.

"Mmm…" said Harry, peering at the sweater.

"Don't you make fun of me Harry Potter," squealed Ginny. "I'm working very hard on this sweater for you. We'll find a way to squeeze your arms into those things even if we have to chop off a bit of your arms here and there to make them fit!"

"Mmm…I have a better idea," said Harry. "What about this?" Harry waved his wand, and all of a sudden, there was a perfect, red sweater sitting in Ginny's arm.

"No!" cried Ginny. "The whole point is that I want to do it myself, without magic. With my own hands. Now put it back!"

"Okay," said Harry, waving his wand again. The lump of red yarn was back in Ginny's arms. "I'm sure it will be great."

When the first "sweater" was finished, Ginny didn't actually make Harry wear it. But she practiced and practiced and now she could actually knit wearable things. She was sitting on a couch in the common room knitting a red wand cover for George's wand, when there was a loud crack and George appeared.

Ginny and Ron leapt to their feet, and the three of them gave each other a long hug.

"Where's the rest of my welcome party?" asked George.

"Harry and Hermione don't have much free time these days," said Ginny. "McGonagall turned them both into teachers."

"Wow!" said George. "Could you imagine if Fred and I had become teachers. We could have probably sent our entire class to the hospital wing in one day!"

"Well, actually…," Ron started to say, and he burst out laughing.

"You serious?" asked George.

Ron nodded.

"His entire class?"

"70 kids in one day. It was quite spectacular."

"Harry Potter," said George. "I always knew there was something I liked about that kid."

"So how are things at the shop?" asked Ginny.

"Well, they'll never be the same, but they're okay," said George. "Angelina Johnson was looking for a job, so I hired her. She's lots of fun, and we goof around a lot. She even came up with an idea for a gag we're already selling."

"What does it do?" asked Ron.

"It looks just like an extendible ear, but you can make it say anything you want. So let's say there's someone you want to trick. You leave it lying around so they find it. Then when they use it to spy on you, instead of hearing what you're really saying they hear your voice saying, 'Nice try. It's not nice to try to spy on people.' We're selling a lot of them."

"What do you call it?" asked Ginny.

"An Extendible Ear Spy Zapper."

"Nice name," said Ron.

"How are mum and dad?" asked Ginny.

"They're okay," said George, "but they're still pretty sad. Mum pops into the store every few days at lunch time with a picnic basket and we have lunch in the shop. I think she's pretty lonely back at the Burrow."

"You get to have mum's cooking every few days!?" said Ron.

"Yup. But don't complain. You've been eating pretty well back here at Hogwarts."

"Sure, but it's not like mum's cooking," said Ron.

"Forget about food for a second, Ron," said George. "Let's talk Quidditch. I hear our baby sister is a superstar. There was a whole article about the game in the Daily Prophet. I guess stealing our broomsticks from the shed when you were little really paid off for you, Ginny. How's that old shoulder?" George poked Ginny in the shoulder. Ginny winced in pain. "Wow," said George, "you really took one for the team. Why don't you go to Madame Pomfrey and have her take care of it?"

"Nah," said Ginny. "I don't mind the pain. It reminds me of the big game."

"Ron, we have one tough little sister. And I hear you played a pretty spectacular game yourself. Except I hear you got distracted a few times. Do we need to tell Hermione to stop going to your Quidditch matches?"

Ron laughed. Then he and Ginny told George about the writing on the doors in the Chamber of Secrets and the pile of blankets in Hagrid's hut.

"I see you found yourselves some mysteries. So this is what Harry meant when he said he'd make sure Ginny didn't get into any trouble?" said George. "Wait till I get my hands on him. I'll pat him on the back and tell him I'm proud of him. Where is that boyfriend of yours anyway?" he asked, looking at Ginny. "And your girlfriend?" he added, looking at Ron.

"They're probably in the library preparing their lessons for tomorrow," said Ginny.

"Well, I need to get back to Diagon Alley," said George. "I promised Angelina I'd go to a movie with her tonight. Tell Harry and Hermione I'll catch them next time I'm in town." And with a loud crack, George was gone.


	10. Chapter 10 -Muggles Studies

"Leave your wands in your robes. Bow to each other. Then turn around. Walk 20 paces. Turn to face each other. I will say '1, 2, 3, duel.' When I say 'duel', you are to take out your wands and each perform a disarming charm, ONLY a disarming charm."

The two third years looked a little nervous, as Harry gave them their instructions for the very first duel. The rest of the students were standing in a row against the far wall, out of harm's way, as the two students Harry had selected stood facing each other in an area in the middle of the room that Harry had cleared out by pushing some desks to one side.

"Are you ready?"

They nodded.

"Okay, bow."

The students bowed, turned, walked away from each other, and then turned to face each other. "1, 2, 3 duel," said Harry.

Simultaneously, they both reached into their robes, whipped out their wands, and yelled "Expelliarmus." Jets of red light shot out of their wands, but neither reached the other student. One spell knocked a stack of parchment off of Harry's desk, and the other knocked over a chair. "Expelliarmus," they both yelled a second time. This time, one of the spells was right on target and sent the other student's wand flying out of his hand.

"Nice work, Mr. Bradford," said Harry.

"Thanks," said John Bradford, as the other student clutched his wand hand.

"It'll only hurt for a minute or two," said Harry. "You get used to it." Then he turned to the rest of the students lined up against the far wall. "You've just seen a duel. Who's next? Everyone is going to get a chance. You're all just going to do Expelliarmus today. No attacking spells. Now line up in two lines facing each other."

A girl in the front row raised her hand. "Professor Granger," she said. "I understand that Muggles don't use broomsticks. But what I don't understand is how they fly without them."

"They use airplanes."

"I know, I've seen airplanes," said the girl. "But airplanes go really high in the sky and long distances. What if a Muggle just wants to fly to a store a few blocks from their house. Isn't that too close to fly an airplane? How do they fly to the store?"

"They don't," sad Hermione. "Muggles can't fly without airplanes."

"They can't?" said the girl. "So any time they want to go shopping, do they have to apparate or use floo powder?"

"Muggles can't apparate," said Hermione. "They can't use floo powder. They're not magical people. They can't use magic."

The girl looked perplexed. "They can't apparate? They can't use floo powder? Then how do they get to the store?"

"Well, that depends. For example, they can walk. Or they can drive a car. Or they can take a bus."

"Oh, I've seen cars a few times," said the girl. "I always wondered what they were for. That's how Muggles get around?"

All of a sudden, a boy sitting behind her called out, "Wanda! Don't you know anything? How can you not know what a car is for?"

"Now, now, Mr. Mullins," said Hermione. "There's no need to talk to your fellow student that way. The students in this class all have different backgrounds. Some of you have had a greater opportunity to observe Muggles or interact with them than others."

"That's right, Professor," said Wanda Banks. "I come from a small village called Dalwhinnie. It's an entirely wizarding village. I've never really met a Muggle before. I saw cars a few times from the sky when I was flying with my mum, but I really had no idea what they were for."

"I understand," said Hermione.

"There's still something I don't understand," said Wanda. "Let's say a Muggle apparates to a store. Wait, I forgot, they can't apparate. Okay, let's say a Muggle walks to a store. And let's say it's raining outside really heavily. And let's say they do a protective charm to create a bubble over them so they don't get wet while they're walking. What I don't understand is whether…"

"Let me interrupt you right there," said Hermione. "Muggles don't do charms."

"They don't?" said Wanda. "Not even protective charms? Then how do they stay dry if it's raining out?"

"Well, they can wear a raincoat," said Hermione. "Or use an umbrella. And sometimes if it's raining a lot, they just get wet."

"They do?" cried Wanda. "But that would be so uncomfortable. Why don't they just do a charm?"

"They can't," said Hermione patiently. "They're Muggles. They're not magical people. They can't do charms."

"Oh," said Wanda. "I think I get it. It's just so hard to think about a person not being able to do magic. They must get wet a lot. When it's raining out, do they drink a protective potion before they go out to make sure they don't get sick?"

The boy behind her groaned. Hermione looked at him sharply.

"Miss Banks. Muggles don't make potions. They're not magical people," Hermione repeated.

Wanda looked embarrassed. "OK. I get it. I guess I just assumed that at least they made potions," she said. Then she added,"But there's still one thing I don't understand, Professor Granger. If Muggles don't do spells, then what do they use their wands for? What's the point of them even having wands?"

"They don't," said Hermione.

"They don't what?" asked Wanda.

"They don't have wands."

Wanda just stared at Hermione, thinking about what she had just said. She couldn't imagine all of the Muggles living without wands. Then it clicked. "Oh, I get it," she said, laughing. "They don't need to have wands because they don't do magic."

"That's right," said Hermione, still patient. "Okay, everyone, let's see how much you've learned. I'm going to ask some questions. Please raise your hand if you think you know the answer. If a Muggle gets sick, who do they go to?"

Wanda's hand shot up. "Yes, Miss Banks."

"They go to a Healer, also known as a MediWizard," Wanda answered confidently. John Mullins groaned again. Hermione gave him a sharp look.

"That is not the correct answer," said Hermione. A bunch of hands shot up. Hermione called on another girl who answered "doctor".

"Very good," said Hermione. Next question. "How do Muggles light up their houses at night."

Wanda's hand shot up. "Yes, Miss Banks."

Wanda hesitated at first. Then she said, "Well, Ms. Granger, I was about to say that they wave their wands and say 'lumos', but then I remembered that you said Muggles don't use wands."

Hermione smiled. "Very good, Ms. Banks. So how do Muggles light up their houses?"

"Well," said Wanda. "I know they don't use wands. And they don't use spells. And they don't use charms. And they don't use potions."

Hermione smiled. "Very good, Ms. Banks. So how do Muggles light up their houses?"

Wanda smiled. "I figured it out. You were asking us a trick question. Since Muggles can't do magic, they have no way to light up their houses at night. They either sit in the dark or go to sleep very early." Wanda smiled proudly, confident that she had figured out the right answer.

John Mullins and a bunch of other students groaned this time. Hermione gave them all sharp looks, although by now she was getting pretty exasperated with Wanda herself. Could a 14-year-old witch really know this little about Muggles? Hermione knew that the wizarding and Muggle communities were pretty separate, but she had no idea just how sheltered some witches and wizards were from knowing anything about Muggles. No wonder Voldemort had been able to gain lots of followers. If there were witches and wizards who knew this little about Muggles, Voldemort and his followers would have been able to say anything they wanted to about them, and lots of people would have had no way of knowing whether or not it was true. All of a sudden, Muggles Studies was feeling to Hermione like an even more important subject, and Hermione started wondering if maybe the wizarding community ought to start teaching it to their children at a much younger age.

Hermione looked around the room, and saw lots of hands in the air. She called on a blonde-haired boy, who said, "They use electricity to operate light bulbs," and Hermione smiled at him, saying, "Very good."

At lunch that day, Ginny decided that she'd waited long enough. "Guys, it's been weeks. I refuse to wait any longer. Let's go back to the Chamber of Secrets tonight and try to figure this thing out. Come on, Hermione. You know you're as curious as I am."

Hermione said, "Well, I guess…"

Ginny didn't wait for Hermione to finish her sentence. "Good, you agreed. Guys, you're both in, right?" she said to Harry and Ron.

Harry shrugged and said, "sure." Ron nodded, and as he shoved half a donut into his mouth, which was already filled with mashed potatoes and stuffed turkey, causing some jelly from the donut to ooze out of his mouth and onto the back of his hand and his cheek, he said something that sounded more like "gloor" than "sure" but everyone knew what he meant.

"Nice one," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

"This is great, you should try it" " said Ron as he reached across the table to hand Hermione the other half of his jelly donut, which was oozing with jelly that was mixing with the gravy and mashed potatoes that had leaked out of his mouth onto it when he took his first bite.

"Good grief," said Hermione, "I'm going to the library. See you all later."

At 11:30 that night, the four friends were under the invisibility cloak, holding their invisible brooms. Hermione had made their legs disappear. They headed into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"We might as well be prepared to get wet," said Hermione as she pushed the door open.

They walked in and pulled off the invisibility cloak. Myrtle was floating in the corner. She saw them, but this time she didn't say anything. She just looked at them and sulked.

"I guess she got tired of splashing us," Ron whispered to Harry.

All of a sudden, Myrtle moaned at the top of her lungs, "Go ahead, whisper about me. Make fun of the dead girl. Talk about how I'm dead and live in a bathroom. See if I care!" And she swooped through the air, flew down her toilet drain, and sent a splash throughout the room soaking everybody.

"Nice work, Ron," said Hermione, wiping the water off of her face with the sleeve of her robe.

"Thanks," said Ron, smiling. Then he waved his wand in a complicated motion, and all of a sudden everyone felt a warm gust of air and they were perfectly dry.

"Nice work, Ron," said Hermione with a smile. This time she was serious.

"Thanks," said Ron. "Just a little something I've been practicing in some of my spare time."

A few hisses later, all four of them were sliding down the pipe to the Chamber of Secrets. They walked back to the main chamber where they faced the statue of Slytherin.

"Okay," said Hermione. "The last tunnel we went down was the one on the right, and the door said 'try the other one,' so let's go back down the tunnel on the left."

A few minutes later they were in front of the original door. It looked exactly the same. They kneeled down to read the inscription on the door:

 _No Secrets Here. Try the other one again._

"It changed," gasped Ginny. "Hermione, you were right."

"Looks like we're going on another hike," said Ron.

After a very long walk, they were back in front of the second tunnel, the one on the right. They were all a little out of breath when they arrived. They kneeled down.

 _No Secrets Here. Try the other one again._

"Good grief," said Ron. "This is starting to seem like a practical joke. And I'm getting exhausted."

"Ron," cried Ginny. "We can't give up now. The inscriptions on both doors changed when we went back to them the second time. We need to go back to the other one again."

"Aren't you getting tired of all this walking?" asked Ron.

"Come on!" cried Ginny. "Don't be lazy. We need to keep going."

"Wait, I have an idea," said Harry. "We don't need to walk. We have our brooms. I'll fly back to the first door, the one on the left, and see if it changed."

"Be careful," said Hermione, "these tunnels are narrow."

Harry, hopped on his broom, and took off with a whoosh, disappearing around a curve in the tunnel. Two minutes later, he came streaking back down the tunnel and landed next to them.

"Well, mate, did it change?" asked Ron.

"Nope," said Harry. It still says, "No secrets here. Try the other one again."

"Looks like we've hit a dead end," said Ron.

"Come on," said Ginny. "We can't give up. Let's think of something."

All of their eyes turned to Hermione.

"What are you all looking at me for?" asked Hermione.

"Don't give us that," said Harry. "We have confidence in you. What do you think we should do next."

Hermione blushed. "Well," she said. "I'm not sure, but I have an idea. Each door changed each time we went to it. I mean they both started the same, but then each time we went back to each one it changed. Let's say we give up now. Let's say 50 years from now, some other kids come down here and find the first door. What do you think it will say? It probably won't say, 'Try the other door again.' That wouldn't make sense. They wouldn't have been to the other door yet. It will probably just say 'try the other door' and not change until they come back to it a second time."

"That makes sense," said Ron.

"Thanks," said Hermione. "Did I detect a tone of surprise in your voice."

"Stop the playing, Hermione. said Harry. "Go on. What's your point?"

"My point is that whatever kind of spell is on these doors, for it to work right the spell needs know when someone comes to a door whether they've been to it before so it can make the correct writing appear on the door. So it needs to be keeping track not just of how many times people come to each door, but of who comes to each door each time someone shows up. I think maybe when Harry went back to the first door for the third time, the spell could tell that the other times he came he had come with us. So when he showed up by himself, it didn't count. Maybe for it to work, since we all started this together, we need to all finish it together."

They all stared at her, skeptically.

"I'm not saying that it's right," said Hermione. "It's just a theory. But do any of you have a better one?"

They all grunted and shrugged.

"Okay, then it's time for us all to fly," said Hermione, hopping on her broomstick.

The three Quidditch players knew that Hermione wasn't as experienced at flying as they were. "Hermione," said Ron, "be careful in these tunnels. They're narrow."

"I feel like I heard that somewhere before," said Hermione. "Don't worry, I'll fly carefully." And with that, the four of them took off down the tunnel, but they flew a little slower than Harry had flown before to make sure Hermione could fly safely.

Pretty soon they were all standing in front of the first door for the third time. They kneeled.

 _Still No Secrets Here. Try the other one again._

"It changed again," Ginny gasped. "Hermione, you were right!"

"Yeah," said Hermione, "but that doesn't mean we're going to solve this treasure hunt. At this rate, we could be flying back and forth forever. And flying through that narrow tunnel was pretty stressful for me. I'm not sure how many more times I can do it tonight. I'm already getting sleepy."

"Let's make a deal," said Ginny. "We'll do it three more times tonight. And if nothing new happens, we'll just call it a night, and try again next time."

Three more flights down the two narrow tunnels seemed like a lot to Hermione, but Ginny was so excited that Hermione agreed.

Whoosh. They were standing in front of the second door for the third time.

 _Still No Secrets Here. Try the other one again._

"It's still working," said Ginny. "That one changed again also. Let's fly again."

Whoosh. They were standing in front of the first door for the fourth time.

 _You will not find any secrets HERE._

"Maybe that means the secrets are THERE, and not HERE," said Ron.

"Only one way to find out," said Harry. "Broomsticks?"

They hopped back on their broomsticks. Whoosh. All of a sudden Hermione screamed. She had fallen off her broomstick and was tumbling along the floor of the tunnel. Ron got to her first.

"Are you okay!"

"I… I.. think so…" said Hermione. "I got pretty banged up, but I don't think anything's broken."

Ron said "lumos" and saw that Hermione's face was pretty scratched up. "Should we call it a night and take you to Madame Pomfrey?" asked Ron.

"Call it a night?" said Hermione. "What kind of a wimp do you think I am? After what my friend Ginny did on the Quidditch pitch, I think I can take a little banging around and still keep going. Come on, let's find some secrets!"

"Wow, Hermione!"' said Ron. "You're a real trooper."

"Don't sound so surprised," she said with a smile, and gave Ron a little snog. They all hopped back on their broomsticks. Whoosh. They were standing in front of the second door for the fourth time.

 _Come in._


	11. Chapter 11 - Treasure Hunt

"How are we supposed to get in?" said Ron, looking at the wooden door with no handle.

Ginny pushed. The door swung open easily. "That was easy," she said.

They didn't need their wands. The room was brightly lit. They leaned their broomsticks against the wall of the tunnel, and slowly walked inside.

They looked around the room for the source of the light, but they didn't see any. No lights, no candles, just a plain white ceiling, white floor and four white walls, all brightly lit. After standing in the dark tunnel, they needed to squint their eyes when they first walked into the room to let them adjust to the bright light.

As their eyes adjusted to the light, they looked around the room and didn't see anything. Just blank walls. No other doors. No windows. No anything.

"So what do we do now?" asked Ron.

Before anyone could respond, bright red letters appeared on the white wall opposite them.

YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION

"Huh?" said Ron. "What question?"

The words on the wall disappeared, and new words took their place.

THIS QUESTION

"This is getting weird," said Ron. "I'm having a conversation with a wall." Again the words disappeared, and this time what seemed like an invisible hand began writing slowly on the wall in black. When the writing stopped, the four friends stared at the words.

 _Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it,  
Five in the middle is seen;  
The first of all figures, the first of all letters,  
Take up their place in between.  
Join them together, and then you will bring  
Before you the name of an eminent king._

"It's a riddle," said Ginny.

"Okay, let's work it out," said Harry. "Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it. If it starts with 500 and ends with 500 then that would make 500500."

"Right," said Ron. "But it says 'five in the middle is seen'. If you stick 5 in the middle, then you'll have 5005500."

"We're trying to figure out the name of an eminent king, aren't we?" said Ginny. "How are we going to get the name of a king out of fives and zeros?"

"Well," said Harry, "it says 'the first of all figures, the first of all letters, take up their place in between.' I think that means we need to stick the first of all figures and the first of all letters between those numbers. The first of all letters is 'A'. So does that mean we need to stick the letter A somewhere between the numbers in 5005500? Like 5-0-A-0-5-5-0-0? How are we going to get the name of a king by sticking a letter between all those numbers? And what about 'first of all figures'? I know what 'first of all letters' means, but what does 'first of all figures' mean?"

"Well," said Ginny. "Sometimes people call numbers 'figures'. Maybe it means first of all numbers. That would be '1'."

"So we need to stick the number '1' in there somewhere?" said Ron. "How are we going to get the name of a king by sticking the number 1 and the letter A somewhere in the middle of a bunch of 5s and 0s? And the puzzle doesn't even tell us where to stick them. This puzzle isn't making a lot of sense. It could be 5-0-A-0-5-1-5-0-0. Or 5-1-0-0-A-5-5-0-0. Or any other combination none of which is going to make the name of a king. I think…"

All this time, Hermione had been standing quietly and thinking. Finally, she interrupted Ron. "I think," said Hermione, "that we've been thinking about this wrong. You can't make the name of a king out of a bunch of numbers. We're not supposed to use numbers."

"What do you mean," said Ron. "The puzzle starts with 500 and 500."

"Right," said Hermione. "But we need letters, not numbers, to spell the name of a king. How do you write numbers with letters?"

All three of them stared at Hermione for a second and thought. Then, almost at once, they slapped themselves on their heads. "Good job, Hermione," said Ginny. "I hadn't thought of Roman numerals."

"None of us did," said Harry. "Good one, Hermione."

"Thanks. Now let's figure this thing out," said Hermione.

"Okay," said Harry. "Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it."

"The Roman numeral for five hundred is 'D,'" said Ron."

"So the name starts with a 'D' and ends with a 'D'", said Ginny.

"Five in the middle is seen," continued Harry.

"The Roman numeral for five is 'V'", said Ron.

"If you put a V between two Ds, you have DVD," said Ginny. "I learned about DVD players in Muggle Studies," said Ginny, laughing. Then she got serious and said, "okay, let's go on."

"First of all figures, the first of all letters, Take up their place in between," said Harry.

"Well," said Ron, "if 'figures' means 'numbers', the first of all numbers is the number 1. And the Roman numeral for 1 is the letter I."

"Okay," said Harry, "and the first of all letters is 'A'".

"Well," said Ginny, "if you put an I and an A in between the letters DVD, you'll have D-I-V-A-D. I've never heard of a king name Divad, much less an eminent one."

All of a sudden, Hermione laughed. "Switch the vowels," she said.

A second later, Ginny screamed. "David. King David. He's the eminent king."

Before Ginny could say anything else, the white wall in front of them dissolved and they were standing in a room twice the size it had been, now extending in front of them as far as it extended behind them. Instead of white, the four walls, floor and ceiling, of the larger room were now a beautiful sparkling shade of purple. They walked forward into the newly opened portion of the room until they reached the far wall. It was purple and blank.

"What do you think we're supposed to do now?" asked Ginny. As soon as she spoke, words appeared on the wall in bright pink letters.

YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION

"Do you think I'm supposed to say 'what question?' again?" asked Ron.

The words on the wall disappeared, and a new word took their place.

NO

Then the word disappeared, and the invisible hand returned writing slowly on the wall in black.

 _How many whole numbers less than 100 have 7 in them?_

"That's easy," said Ron. "Let's just count them. There's 7, 17, 27, 37, 47, 57…all the way up to 97. That's ten numbers."

"Wait a second, Ron," said Ginny. "Those are the numbers that end with a 7. You forgot all the numbers that start with a 7: 70, 71, 72, 73…all the way up to 79. That's another ten numbers."

"Ten and ten is twenty," said Harry. "So the answer is…"

"Wait!" said Hermione. "You guys counted one number twice."

"What number?" asked Ginny.

"77. It's on both lists. 77 starts with a 7 and ends with a 7. But it only counts once. That makes the total 19, not 20."

As Hermione said "19," the purple wall in front of them dissolved and they were now standing in a room that had again doubled in size and extended in front of them as far as it extended behind them. Instead of purple, the four walls, floor and ceiling, of the now enormous room were a shiny gold. They walked forward into the newly opened portion of the room until they reached the far wall. It was gold and blank.

They stared at the wall. "I guess we need to go through this again, or else nothing's going to happen, right?" said Ron.

YES

This time the letters were dark green.

"Okay, what do we do now?"

YOU KNOW

"Okay," said Ron, "give us the question."

The words disappeared, and the invisible hand returned writing slowly on the wall in black.

 ** _A hedgehog has two and so does a guinea pig._**

 **** ** _Dogs and gerbils each have one._**

 **** ** _But rabbits and hamsters don't have any._**

"They all have four feet," said Ginny.

"They all have two eyes," said Ron.

"What don't rabbits and hamsters have any of?" said Harry.

They all stood there thinking. All of a sudden, Hermione laughed. "It's not the animals," she said. "It's the words."

They all looked at her.

"What letter doesn't 'rabbits' or 'hamsters' have, but 'dogs', 'gerbils', 'hedgehogs,' and 'guinea pigs' all have it?"

"Oh," said Ginny. "The letter 'g'. And 'hedgehogs' and 'guinea pigs' have two 'g's."

Immediately, the wall dissolved and they were once again standing in a room double in size. This time the walls, floor and ceiling, were bright orange. They walked together to the far wall. Before anyone could speak, words appeared in brown on the wall.

RUB HERE

Harry was the closest to the wall. He reached forward to rub the letters. But before he could touch the wall, the invisible hand returned and started writing very, very slowly on the wall in tiny letters in black just underneath the words "Rub Here." When the hand finished writing the four friends just stared at the wall in disbelief.

 ** _With a Phoenix feather_**

"Oy," groaned Ron. "That's the end of the road for us. What kind of a treasure hunt is this? How could he expect us to find a phoenix feather? Phoenixes don't just go wandering around waiting for people to pluck out their feathers."

"I've never heard of anyone ever seeing an actual Phoenix, except for Fawkes, of course," said Hermione. "From what I've read in the library about Phoenixes, Fawkes was probably the only Phoenix in the world. Dumbledore was lucky. I don't know how he and Fawkes met, but when Dumbledore died and Fawkes went away, that may have been the last time anyone will ever see a Phoenix. I don't think we're going to be able to finish this treasure hunt."

The four of them stood there, looking dejected. They had come so far. There was clearly a secret in the Chamber of Secrets still to be found, but there was no way they would ever be able to discover it.

All of a sudden, Hermione smiled, and cried, "Wait a second! We have a Phoenix feather! Right here!" She looked at Harry.

Harry smiled, and looked down at his right hand where he was holding his wand. He remembered. He was holding one of Fawkes's tail feathers in his right hand. Slowly, Harry reached forward with his right hand, until his wand was almost touching the black words on the orange wall. "Well, here goes," he said. He touched the wand to the wall and slowly rubbed it back and forth. Nothing happened. He rubbed it some more. Still nothing happened.

"I guess, technically, you're not rubbing it with a Phoenix feather, Harry," said Hermione. "The Phoenix feather is inside your wand, but you're really rubbing the wall with the wood."

"Come on," said Harry. "Shouldn't that be close enough?"

Hermione was eyeing Harry's wand. He caught her looking at it.

"Forget it," said Harry. "You're not going to break my wand a second time to get to the feather. Stop looking at it."

"Well," said Hermione, "you know you could fix it again with the Elder Wand."

"I can't believe you're even thinking that, Hermione," said Harry. "First of all, the Elder Wand is in Dumbledore's grave. We can't desecrate his grave. Second of all, I put the wand there for a reason. No one, including me, is ever going to use the Elder Wand again. End of story. And stop looking at my wand."

"You're right, Harry, of course" said Hermione. "I wasn't really thinking we should break your wand or anything like that. It's just that we've come so far. I can't believe we're not going to be able to get any further."

"Wait a second," said Ginny. "Maybe it's not over."

Everyone looked at her. She continued.

"Remember, Fawkes flew down to the Chamber of Secrets and fought with the basilisk down here. Maybe somehow one of his feathers got knocked out and landed in the chamber. We should look."

"I guess it's worth a try," said Harry, although he didn't sound very hopeful that they were going to find a Phoenix feather lying on the floor of the Chamber of Secrets.

They walked the length of the now very long, orange-colored room. As they walked, the colors changed and walls started reappearing until they found themselves at the door of the first, small, white room in which they had started. They walked through the doorway, hopped back on their broomsticks, and flew down the corridor toward the Chamber of Secrets. What they didn't see behind them was that the wooden door had closed. And there was nothing inscribed on the bottom of the door.

In the Chamber of Secrets, they searched carefully with their wands at maximum luminosity. Harry looked especially carefully in the areas where Fawkes had battled the basilisk. But they didn't see a feather. Finally, Harry thought of something, waved his wand, and cried "Accio Phoenix feather." Nothing happened.

After searching for an hour, Ginny finally said, "I know this was my idea. And Hermione, this was a great adventure. But I can't keep my eyes open any more I'm so sleepy. I think it's time to call it quits."

Everyone else had had the same idea for at least half an hour, but nobody wanted to be the one to tell Ginny that it was time to give up. Hermione looked longingly at Harry's wand.

"Stop looking at my wand, Hermione," said Harry sternly.

"Sorry."

"Hey, Gin," said Ron. "Fawkes isn't dead. He just went away. Maybe he'll come back some day."

"Sure, Ron," said Ginny. "Maybe."

But they had all been there the day of Dumbledore's funeral. They had heard Fawkes's final song. They had seen him leave. They all knew that Fawkes was never coming back.


	12. Chapter 12 - Hogsmeade

It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year for Harry, Ron and Hermione. In fact it was their first Hogsmeade weekend since their awful trip during their sixth year which had ended with Katie Bell being jinxed by a bewitched necklace. For Harry and Ron, it was their first trip ever to Hogsmeade with a girlfriend. The last time Harry had gone to Hogsmeade with a girl, he had been on a date with Cho Chang. It had not gone well. Harry had been sitting in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, wondering whether he should hold Cho's hand, wondering whether he should snog her, when all of a sudden the date had ended with a bang. Harry had told Cho in the middle of their date that he was going to meet Hermione. And he hadn't understood why Cho had gotten mad. Not until Hermione had explained it to him. Boy, he felt stupid looking back at it now. He knew he still didn't really understand girls. Maybe he never would. But he thought he at least understood them a little bit better.

But today he was going to Hogsmeade with Ginny for the first time as her boyfriend. And Ron and Hermione were going together. And they were all looking forward to a great day.

Filch grunted at them as they passed him in the Great Hall and left the castle. They arrived in Hogsmeade in the late morning. "What do you all want to do first?" asked Harry.

"I have an idea," said Ron. "Let's go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. We can look at the frilly decorations, sip tea, listen to the bell over the door tinkle when people walk in, and enjoy the lacy napkins and china sugar bowls. NOT!"

"Oh, Ron!" cried Hermione. "Don't you have even one romantic bone in your body? This is probably the last chance you and I will ever have to go to Madam Puddifoot's together. "

Ron shrugged. "Okay," he said. He looked at Harry and Ginny.

"Madam Puddifoot's, here we go," said Ginny.

The tea shop was filled with students, sitting as couples at tables for two. As the four of them walked into Madam Puddifoot's, the bell over the door tinkled, and everyone looked up to see who the latest couple was to walk in. As they entered the store, they heard quiet whispering at all the tables.

"We're celebrities," said Harry.

Although almost all of the tables were tables for two, there was one table for four that no one was sitting in.

Ginny and Hermione sat down first, across the table from each other. Then Ron sat down next to Ginny, and Harry sat down next to Hermione.

"There's a problem here," said Ginny to Harry from across the table with a grin. "From here I can still look into your beautiful green eyes. But you're as far from me as you can be."

"Yeah," said Harry, laughing. "I can still see your beautiful, red flowing hair. But you're like a mile away."

"Wait, guys," said Hermione. "There's even a bigger problem. If we sit this way, then if you guys want to hold hands across the table at the same time Ron and I do, our hands will all bump into each other at the middle of the table. One couple will have to rest their hands on top of the other couple's."

"You're right, Hermione," said Harry. "And there's an even bigger risk. Let's say you want to snog Ron at the same time Ginny wants to snog me. Everyone's heads could crash together in the middle of the table. Sitting this way could be downright dangerous."

"What do you mean at the same time I want to snog YOU, Harry Potter," said Ginny. "You're the one who always wants to snog ME."

Everyone laughed. Harry felt so good. The first time he had come into Madam Puddifoot's, with Cho, he had felt so awkward. Today, he and Ginny felt so comfortable with each other that they could joke around about holding hands and snogging.

They reseated themselves, boy/girl boy/girl, so Harry and Ginny could sit next to each other and so could Ron and Hermione. Madam Puddifoot brought them a steaming pot of tea, dainty china cups, a dainty china sugar bowl and creamer, and a dainty china plate covered with dainty little sugar cookies and tiny, dainty cakes.

"How dainty," said Ron. Hermione elbowed him.

"Well, I might as well try some," said Ron, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Ahem," said Hermione.

Ron looked at her.

Hermione didn't say anything. She just sat there.

Ron reached for a dainty cookie, and as he reached Hermione said again, "ahem."

"What's going on?" asked Ron. "Is Umbridge back."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and looked at Harry and Ginny for help.

Harry smiled, picked up the steaming teapot, turned to Ginny, and said, "May I pour you a cup of tea, Ms. Weasley."

Ginny smiled back and said, "Why thank you, Mr. Potter. That would be very kind of you."

"Okay, I get it," said Ron. When Harry put down the teapot, Ron picked it up, turned to Hermione, and asked, "May I pour you a cup of tea, Ms. Granger?"

"Why, that would be lovely Mr. Weasley," said Hermione, batting her eyelashes.

"Now, can I eat?" asked Ron after he finished pouring the tea, put down the teapot, and grabbed almost all of the cookies on the plate.

"Hey, leave some for the rest of us," said Ginny.

"But they're so small and dainty, and I'm starved," said Ron. But he put a few cookies back on the plate.

When they had finished their tea, and the plates were empty, they all spoke at the same time.

"Let's go to Zonko's," said Harry and Ron.

At the same time, Hermione said, "Can we go to Scrivenshaft's? I want to look at some new quills."

At the same time, Ginny said, "I want to stop by Spintwitches sporting good shop and look at Quidditch equipment."

They all laughed. "We have all day," said Harry. "We can do everything. And we'll even have time for a stop at Honeydukes. Let's start at Zonko's."

Nobody had a problem with that, and off they went.

Monday morning, having breakfast in the Great Hall, everyone was in a good mood. The day before had been one of the most enjoyable days any of them could remember. It had certainly been the best Hogsmeade trip they had ever taken. Hermione had two new quills. Ginny had a new pair of Quidditch knee pads that Harry had bought for her. Ginny had argued with Harry when he started to pay for them after she had picked them out and taken them up to the counter.

"I have my own money. You don't need to buy them for me," she said.

"I know," said Harry, "but I owe you a present."

"Why do you owe me a present?" she asked.

"I never got you anything for Valentine's Day."

"But you weren't my boyfriend on Valentine's Day," she said. "And, anyway, in February you were hiding in the woods and searching for Horcruxes."

"It doesn't matter," said Harry with a smile. "I still owe you." And he asked the clerk to gift wrap the knee pads.

"Harry, you don't need to gift wrap them for me. I saw them already."

"That's okay," said Harry. "They're a present, and they should be wrapped." He turned to the clerk and said, "Can you make it pink paper with red hearts all over it, please. It's a Valentine's Day present for my girlfriend."

Ginny blushed while the clerk waved his wand, and the knee pads were wrapped in pink paper, with red hearts and a red bow. Harry handed them to Ginny, said "Happy Valentine's Day," and snogged her.

"Enough already," Ron had said. "She is my sister, you know."

But now that the weekend was over and they were eating breakfast in the Great Hall, it was time to go back to work. Hermione was teaching three transfiguration classes that day, and had not spent much time during the weekend preparing. "Today is going to be challenging," said Hermione. "No more French fries. We've moved on to living things. I'm going to teach them to change a desk into a pig."

"McGonagall did that in our class," said Ginny.

"Yeah, she did it in ours also," said Ron. "It's not an easy transfiguration."

Hermione laughed. She remembered that when Ron had tried it, he had ended up with a desk that had a twirly pink tail and a sheep's head.

Hermione was standing in front of a class of first years. When everyone had settled down, she stood next to her desk and, without a word, raised her wand. All the students stared at her, transfixed, wondering what she was going to do. With a swishing motion, she moved her wand rapidly three times and cried "Porcino." The desk was gone and standing in its place was a cute, pink pig with a twirly pink tail. "Oink," it grunted, and started trotting around the class. As it passed them, some of the students tried to pet it.

"Class," called Hermione. "What was that an example of."

A hand shot up in the front row.

"Yes, Miss Eldridge."

"Changing a desk into a pig is an example of inanimate to animate transfiguration," said Myrna. "It is more difficult than inanimate to inanimate transfiguration because turning a non-living object into a living being requires a fundamental change in the nature of the object."

"Correct," said Hermione. "Five points for Gryffindor." For a moment, Hermione paused. She was staring at Myrna. Myrna Eldridge reminded Hermione so much of someone. But Hermione still couldn't figure out who. Then Hermione caught herself staring and started teaching again.

"Okay, class. Each of you will now attempt to change your desk into a pig. Watch carefully as I demonstrate the wand motion again, and then practice it." This time Hermione made the slashing motions with her wand very slowly so everyone could follow them. The students all started waving their wands, and Hermione started walking around the room correcting students as she went. When all of the students had learned the motion correctly, she went back to the front of the room and said, "Now listen carefully to the incantation. It's 'porcino." The accent is on the second syllable. It is not 'porcinO'. Or 'PORcino.' It is 'porCIno.' Will everyone please say it.

Together, the whole class said, "porCIno."

"Okay class. Now remember, in transfiguration what's more important than the wand movement or the incantation is your focus. Focus is especially important when performing inanimate to animate transfigurations. I want you all to look at your desks and imagine a pig. Use whatever image of a pig is the most powerful to you. If you like twirly pig tails, then imagine a twirly pig tail. If you like pork chops or bacon, then imagine the smell. If you like their little grunting sounds, then hear the grunt in your head. But make it feel real to you. Now, when I say three, everyone try it. 1…2…3."

All at once, wands were flying and the entire class cried, "porcino". Hermione looked around the room. It was far from perfect. But Hermione counted four almost perfect pigs. One had a wooden leg, and one had a board instead of a back, but they were very good for a first attempt. Other desks had sprouted twirly tails or pig ears. One looked just like a desk, but it had the aroma of frying bacon. "Not bad," said Hermione. "That was very good for a first attempt." Hermione waved her wand, and all the pigs turned back into desks, including her own.

"Okay, everyone, focus again, think 'pig'. We're going to try this again. When I say three. 1…2…3."

"Grunt..grunt…" Myrna's pig was trotting around the classroom.

"Good job, Miss Eldridge," said Hermione. Hermione scanned the room. The class had done much better. There were three perfect pigs trotting around the room. And almost half the class had turned their desks into something that looked like a pig. The three pigs stopped at desks to stare, not sure exactly what they were looking at. They would grunt at a desk/pig, sniff a lot, and then trot on.

"Class, that was a tremendous improvement," said Hermione. She waved her wand again, and the pigs all turned back into desks.

"Okay, try this," she said. "Imagine you're in a pigpen You're sitting in a gooey pile of mud. There are scraps of potato peels everywhere. You are surrounded by pigs of every size and shape. They are oinking and grunting at you. Imagine you are one of them. Be a pig. I want to hear everyone grunt like a pig. The room was immediately filled with the sound of grunting.

"Come on, pigs," said Hermione. "More grunting. You are a pig. You are rolling around in cool wet mud. You are pink. You have a curly tail. Now, when I say three, turn your desk into a pig. 1…2…3."

"PORCINO." Wands were flying and all of a sudden the room was filled with dozens of adorable pigs grunting like crazy and trotting around the classroom. Every single student had turned a desk into a perfect pig. Hermione, looked around the room in amazement. Then she sat down in her chair and enjoyed the scene of her students chasing their dozens of pigs around her classroom. "I am a pretty good teacher," she thought to herself.


	13. Chapter 13 - Mountain Troll

It was late April. Owls were flying all over the Great Hall, delivering letters and packages to the students. Hermione was eating her breakfast and reading her copy of the Daily Prophet when Pigwidgeon flew up and dropped two letters on the table, one for Ron and one for Ginny.

"We each got a letter from Mum," said Ginny, as they both tore open the envelopes and began reading.

"What does Molly have to say?" asked Harry.

"My letter is mostly about Percy," said Ginny when she finished reading it. "Mum goes on and on about him. He seems to be doing great in his job at the Ministry. And he comes home to the Burrow every Friday night for dinner. Seems like she's really happy to finally have him back again."

"Mine is mostly about dad," said Ron. "With Shacklebolt as Minister, dad is finally getting some recognition at the Ministry. Shacklebolt put him in his cabinet, so dad is now one of the top seven officials at the Ministry. He's one of Shacklebolt's top advisers."

"She also wrote about George. He's back up to his old tricks. When George and Angelina were at the Burrow for dinner last Friday, George enchanted Mum's apple pie. People tried to eat it, and every time someone put a forkful in their mouth, the pie would scream, 'NO! Stop! That hurts! Ow! Stop biting me!' She said, 'I don't know how that Angelina puts up with him.' She's complaining, but she sounds like she's really happy."

Just then, Harry noticed that Hagrid had entered the Great Hall and was heading up the aisle to have breakfast at the staff table. "I'm going to try something," said Harry.

As Hagrid passed their table, Harry said matter-of-factly, "Good morning, Hagrid."

"Mornin', Harry."

"Hagrid, what's under the pile of blankets in your hut?"

"It's not ready yet… I mean, nothin. I shouldn' ave said that. Nothin' under the blankets. Jus' a pile of blankets."

"When will it be ready?" asked Harry.

"In a few wee… I mean, nothin. I shouldn' ave said that. There's nothing there, Harry. Jus' a pile of blankets. Gotta go 'ave me breakfast now. See you later, kids." And Hagrid walked away.

"Harry, that wasn't very nice of you, tricking Hagrid like that," said Hermione.

"We're going to be graduating soon, and that's one mystery we've got to solve before we leave this place," said Harry. "There's something under the pile of blankets that will be ready in a few weeks. We're going to need to figure this out. Ron, what do you think it could be?"

Ron, who was shoving his fifth fried egg into his mouth, grunted, "Dunno."

"Hermione," said Ginny. "How is Harry doing in his N.E.W.T. studies?"

"He's doing great," said Hermione. "He's learning fast. I think he's going to be ready for the exams, no problem."

"It actually isn't very hard," said Harry. "The way Hermione explains stuff, I understand everything the first time she explains it. She's really a very good teacher."

"Thanks," said Hermione, smiling. "Sometimes I wonder. I'm teaching Muggle Studies after breakfast, and there's one girl in the class that doesn't seem to get it no matter how many times I try to explain it to her."

"Let me guess," said Harry. "Is her name Wanda Banks?"

"Yeah," said Hermione. "How'd you know?"

"I have her in my Defense Against the Dark Arts class," said Harry.

"Today," said Hermione, "we're going to talk about Muggle doctors. A doctor is the person a Muggle goes to when she or he gets sick."

"Sort of like a Healer or a MediWizard?" asked Wanda.

"Yes, sort of," said Hermione. "So let's say you're a Muggle and your throat hurts. You go to the doctor. Can anyone tell me what the doctor does?"

John Mullins raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Mullins."

"The doctor conducts an examination to find out what's wrong."

"Very good," said Hermione. "Now who can tell me what kind of equipment a doctor uses to conduct the examination."

Wanda was excited, and her hand was flying in the air. "Yes, Miss Banks."

"The doctor uses tea leaves and a crystal ball. Right?"

"No, Miss Banks. Tea leaves and crystal balls are magical equipment. Muggles don't use magic."

Wanda looked dejected.

Another girl raised her hand and answered. "Muggle doctors use stethoscopes, and blood pressure cuffs, and wooden tongue depressors."

"Correct," said Hermione. "Can anyone tell me what test a doctor would do to find out what kind of sore throat a Muggle has?"

Wanda's hand shot up. "Tarot cards?"

"No, Wanda" said Hermione.

"Smoke patterns?"

"No, Wanda."

"Star reading?"

"No, Wanda."

"Dream interpretation?"

"No, Wanda. Someone else please."

A boy raised his hand and said, "The doctor does a throat culture. The doctor rubs a little stick with a cotton swab on the end in the back of the Muggle's throat and tests it to see what kinds of germs are growing there."

Some of the students grimaced at the thought of a doctor rubbing a stick in the back of someone's throat. But Wanda was totally horrified.

"Why would they do that!?" she cried. "That sounds like torture. Why don't they just do an incantation or something?"

"Because, Wanda," said Hermione. "Incantations are magic. Muggles don't use magic."

"Oh," said Wanda. "I forgot."

Hermione continued. "Okay, let's say it turns out that a Muggle has strep throat. What does the doctor do next."

Wanda was so excited she almost jumped out of her chair. She didn't even raise her hand. She just shouted out the answer, because she was so happy that she would finally get an answer right. "The doctor gives the Muggle a potion made out of three parts sage, two parts licorice root, one part knotgrass, and one part gurdyroot," said Wanda.

Joe Mullins groaned. "Mr. Mullins," said Hermione sharply.

Wanda looked downcast. "I forgot," she said. "Muggles don't use herbs."

"Actually, Miss Banks," said Hermione. "That is not true. Muggles do use herbs."

"Really?" said Wanda, her eyes brightening. "So, was I right?"

"Actually, no," said Hermione. "They do use herbs. They use them to cook with. They even use them sometimes instead of medicines because some Muggles believe that certain herbs can actually help heal them. But they don't use all of the herbs that you mentioned. One is a magical herb. Can anyone tell me which one?"

"Sage?" said Wanda.

"No," said Hermione. "Sage is a regular herb that Muggles use all that time."

"Licorice root?" said Wanda.

"No," said Hermione. "Muggles actually make candy out of licorice root. Just like we do. The herb you mentioned that Muggles don't use, Wanda, is gurdyroot. It is a magical herb."

"Oh," said Wanda. "But if the doctor leaves out the gurdyroot, and makes the potion just with licorice root and sage, does it still work?"

Joe Mullins groaned again. Hermione looked at him sharply. "Wanda, there was another problem with your answer. It's not just that one of the herbs you mentioned is magical."

Wanda looked at Hermione, with a puzzled expression.

"Wanda," said Hermione. "As I have explained before, Muggles don't make potions. Potions are magical. Muggles are not magical people. They don't use magic. They don't make potions."

"Okay, Professor Granger," said Wanda. "I know you've said that before. I've heard you say that. Really I have. But it just isn't true. I know it's not."

"What do you mean, Miss Banks?" asked Hermione.

"Well, Professor Granger, remember I told you that I come from Dalwhinnie, an entirely wizarding village?"

"Yes."

"Well," said Wanda, "one time, when I was six year old, I was flying with my mum. She was looking for dittany. She had heard that it sometimes grows in Dingwall, which is a Muggle village right down the road from Dalwhinnie. So she made us invisible and we flew right over Dingwall. My mum spotted some dittany in the backyard behind a Muggle house, so she landed behind the house and told me to wait while she picked some. Well, I was invisible, so mum couldn't exactly see what I was doing. So I walked around the house to the front to see what was happening."

"Yes," said Hermione, excited that Wanda apparently did have some experience with Muggles, "and what did you see?"

"Well," said Wanda. "These three girls about the same age as me were walking up the street wearing backpacks. They were talking and talking non-stop. I don't think they even noticed what was going on around them they were so busy talking to each other."

"Right," said Hermione. "Six-year-old Muggles are just like six-year-old witches in that way. They were probably coming home from first grade. Go on."

"They looked like nice girls," said Wanda. "One had straight brown hair. One had straight blonde hair. And one had blonde curly hair. I wanted to talk to them, but I knew I would get in trouble with mum if I did. Plus, I was invisible, and I didn't know how to make myself visible again. So I just watched them.

"Anyway, they must have lived in the house I was standing next to, because when they got there they all walked in. They must have been sisters. Maybe they were triplets."

"What happened after they went in?" asked Hermione. The whole class was waiting for Wanda to get to the point of this story.

"Well," said Wanda, "the window was open so I could see and hear everything going on inside the house. First, the mother said, 'how was school today?' and all three girls said, 'fine'. Then she said, 'what did you learn today?' and all three girls said 'nothing'."

Hermione's whole class laughed. They realized that Muggles and magical people did have a lot in common.

"And then one of the girls said, 'Mom, can we make a potion?'" And the other two girls got excited and said, 'Yeah, can we make a potion?' And the mother sighed, and said 'sure' and she went to her magical cabinet and started taking stuff out. You know, a magic bowl. And some magic spoons. And some magic measuring cups. And all these magical ingredients.

"And all three girls started making a potion. They were still working on it when I heard my mum walking back to the house with the dittany. So I ran back to where she left me so she wouldn't know I was gone. But, Professor Granger, my point is that Muggles definitely make potions. Even six-year-old kids. I didn't get to stay long enough to see what the potion did, but I know what I heard and saw, Professor Granger."

All the students in Hermione's class turned to look at her, waiting to hear the answer. Wanda clearly was a little slow in terms of understanding about Muggles, but she was very clear about what had happened that day. Hermione was just smiling at her.

"Miss Banks," said Hermione. "Did you notice what ingredients the three girls put into their potion?"

"Well," said Wanda. "Let's see. They used sugar. And flour. And vanilla. And chocolate chips. And milk. And food coloring. And baking powder."

Hermione was grinning. "Miss Banks, do those sound like ingredients of a potion?

"Well, no."

"What do they sound like?" Hermione asked.

"Uhm. They sound like ingredients for cookies or some kind of a dessert. But, Professor Granger, I heard them. They definitely said they wanted to make a 'potion'."

"Okay, class," said Hermione. "It's time I explain to you something about Muggles. Muggles don't really know much about the wizarding community. But Muggles, especially Muggle children, are fascinated by us. They like to dress up like witches. They write stories about witches and wizards. When they grow up they write books and make movies about witches and wizards. They even learn how to do tricks with cards and stuff, and they call it 'magic.' And, yes, Muggle children sometimes like to mix up ingredients and cook them and say they're making a 'potion'. It's a game they play. But, Miss Banks, Muggles do not actually make real potions. They can't. Potions are magical, and Muggles are not magical people."

"Okay," said Wanda. "I think I really get it now."

If you listened really carefully, you might have heard John Mullins whisper, "yeah, right," under his breath.

There were 70 students on the lawn down by the lake. Standing in front of them was Harry, and a huge ten foot thing, that was sort of in the shape of a very large person. It was made out of wet dirt and paper mache, held together with a lot of twisted wire. The weather was so nice that Harry had decided to teach his Defense Against the Dark Arts class outside. Plus, he needed a lot of room for what he had in mind.

"Sonorus," said Harry, and he spoke into his wand so all the students on the lawn could hear him. "Who can tell me what I am standing next to?"

"Is it supposed to be a cross between a giant and a hippopotamus?" called out one girl.

"Is it supposed to be a weird looking monster?" yelled out one boy.

"Is it supposed to be a big, ugly, shapeless mass?" yelled out another boy.

"No," said Harry. "I would like to introduce you to Charlie. For the rest of this class, he is a mountain troll."

"But it doesn't look like a mountain troll," called out the same girl. "It looks more like a cross between a giant and a hippopotamus."

"That's okay," said Harry. "Use your imaginations. Pretend it's a mountain troll. Just go along with it."

He waved his wand. "Now what is it?" asked Harry.

"A mountain troll holding a large club?" said the girl.

"Exactly," said Harry. "Now this is what we are going to do. I want you to all imagine you are being attacked by a mountain troll wielding a giant club. The troll has you cornered. You have no way to escape. So, instead, you will perform the levitation spell. Can anyone tell us the incantation for the levitation spell?"

A hand shot up.

"Yes, Miss Eldridge." said Harry.

"The incantation is 'wingardium leviosa'," said Myrna. "Not 'wingardium levioSA'," she continued. "The accent is on the third syllable. It is pronounced 'wingardium leviOsa.'"

Harry smiled to himself and said, "Correct Ms. Gran… Miss Eldridge. Okay everyone. When it is your turn, I want you to say 'wingardium leviosa' using this wand motion." Harry demonstrated the correct wand motion. "Your job is to make the club fly out of the mountain troll's hand straight up into the air, then fall down and land on the troll's head. That is the only way to knock the troll out and escape. The first one to score a direct hit on the mountain troll's head will earn five points for their house. Now line up."

At first, no one hit the club. But they did lots of damage to Harry's "mountain troll." Mud, paper mache and wire kept flying off of it. Every once in a while, after a lot of damage had been done to it, Harry would flick his wand, and his troll would be as good as new. Finally, one kid hit the club with a spell and sent it flying out of the troll's hand toward a crowd of students. Harry realized the flying club could do a lot of damage, and he had already sent his entire class to the hospital wing once, so he aimed his wand at the flying club, yelled "expulso", and the club exploded in mid-air before it could hit the students.

"Nice work," Harry called to the student. "You hit the club. Now let's all focus on sending it flying up, not out." Harry waved his wand, and there was a fresh club in the troll's hand. "Next," called Harry.

By the time every student had gone twice, most of them were hitting the club, and some of them were making it go in a sort of upwards direction. Before they started the third round, Harry said, "I want you to focus. Think about the wand heading straight up into the air and falling straight down on the mountain troll's head. Like this."

"Wingardium leviosa," Harry cried, waving his wand. With a bang, the club flew straight up almost fifty feet into the air, then came straight down gaining speed as it went. It fell like a rocket right onto the head of his troll, crushing the troll to bits. All that was left was a pile of mud, paper mache and wire. It had been an amazing display. Even Harry was impressed with himself.

"Well, doing it like that takes a lot of practice," said Harry. "All I want you to do is knock it on its head." Harry rebuilt his troll with a flick of his wand, and said, "Okay, it's almost lunch time. Everyone gets one more chance."

One by one, the students yelled "wingardium leviosa" sending the club flying into the air. It landed near the troll, and once or twice it actually hit the troll's arm or shoulder, but never the top of its head. Finally, there was one student left. "Wingardium leviosa," she cried. With a bang, the club shot like a rocket straight up into the air. It reached 50 feet and kept flying. When it was 75 feet in the air, it started plummeting to the ground, gaining speed as it went. It was coming down so fast, the students started backing away. Finally it came crashing down right in the middle of the head of the "mountain troll", crushing it completely to smithereens. There wasn't even a pile. Just a lot of dust. No one said anything. The students just stared in awe.

Finally, Harry said, "Five points to Gryffindor. Time for lunch. Nice work, Miss Eldridge."


	14. Chapter 14 - A Family Picnic

"So, Harry, what are you going to do after graduation?" asked Molly Weasley.

"Yeah, Harry," said George. "Want to come work for me at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?"

"Well," said Harry, "I…"

"You don't have to decide now, Harry. But remember this. You will never pay for anything at my store and you can always have a job there anytime you want. I'll never forget…" George stopped in mid-sentence and saw his mother looking at him. "Oh, never mind, Harry. You know what I mean."

"What was that all about?" demanded Molly.

"Oh, nothing," said George, who immediately decided to change the subject. "So, Harry, what exactly are you going to do after graduation?"

"Well," said Harry, "I've been thinking about that. I'm in a bit of an unusual situation. Remember, how we all flew away from 4 Privet Drive that night? Well, until that moment it had been my home. After that, I was on the run until I came back to Hogwarts. But on the day we graduate from Hogwarts, I won't actually have a home to go back to. Not that I'd ever want to go back to Privet Drive again. But I'm really going to be starting from scratch."

"HARRY POTTER." Molly Weasley screamed so loud it sounded like a Howler. "If I ever hear you say anything like that again I am going to ring your neck. I don't care if you're a foot taller than me. I'LL RING YOUR NECK, DO YOU HEAR ME!"

Molly Weasley had never spoken to Harry like that before. That was how she spoke to her sons, never to him. She had always spoken to him kindly and tenderly, even when she was really angry at her sons. All of a sudden, Harry remembered the time Molly and Sirius had had a big fight at Grimauld Place. Sirius had yelled at her, "He's not your son" and she had responded, "Well, he might as well be." Harry had gotten a warm feeling when he heard her say that. And he was getting that same warm feeling now listening to her yell at him.

"Harry," Molly said a little calmer now. "I don't want to ever hear you say anything like that again. The Burrow will always be a home to you for the rest of your life. You will always have a place with us. No matter what. We're your family. Have I made myself clear?"

Arthur put his arm around Harry's shoulders, looked at Harry, and nodded.

Harry looked at Arthur. He looked at Molly. Harry's eyes were streaming with tears.

"Harry, we're your family. The Burrow is your home," Arthur repeated. Do you understand?"

Harry couldn't speak. He just nodded his head.

"Okay," said George wanting to lighten the mood. "That's settled then, Harry. After graduation you're coming back to the Burrow. Now stop crying. You're getting your egg salad sandwich soggy."

Harry looked down at the sandwich in his hand, and laughed although his face was still wet.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George and Angelina had all come to Hogwarts the day before to watch the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match, and McGonagall had let them spend the night in guest rooms. So now they were all having a Sunday picnic lunch by the lake.

Ever since McGonagall had invited Harry back to finish his seventh year at Hogwarts, Ginny had always been almost completely happy, but not totally. In the back of her mind, she knew that this was only delaying the inevitable by a few months. Eventually, Harry would graduate, she would go home to the Burrow for the summer, and she wasn't sure how they would get to see each other. So she always had that feeling in her stomach that everything was temporary, that nothing this good could last. But now it was settled. After graduation, they would both be going back to the Burrow. She didn't know what would happen after that, but at least for now she knew that when the school year was over they would still be together. She hadn't said anything, but she was sitting on the picnic blanket with a smile on her face. George caught her smiling.

"Let me guess, Gin," said George. "It looks like you've got an 'I'm going to get to snog my boyfriend at the Burrow this summer' look on your face." Angelina gave George a sharp elbow.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"You leave your little sister alone," said Angelina.

Meanwhile, Ginny's face had turned bright red with embarrassment as she realized that the look on her face had been so obvious that George knew exactly what she was thinking about. "That is not at all what I'm thinking about, George!" Ginny said indignantly.

"Why not?" said Harry. "It's what I was thinking about."

Ginny's face turned even redder. "Harry," she whispered elbowing him gently. "My family's here."

Then she said out loud. "I'll have you know, George, that what I was thinking about happened to be yesterday's Quidditch match. In fact, I was thinking about a particular number."

"Did that number happen to be 47?" asked Angelina.

"Yup."

"Ginny, you were out of control yesterday," said Angelina. "I was a pretty decent Chaser myself, but I've never seen anything like that. 47 goals in one game! You didn't just break your own school record that you set in the match against Ravenclaw. You shattered it."

"Well," said Ginny modestly. "Hufflepuff has a pretty weak team. A bludger never even came close to me, and their keeper doesn't have the fastest reflexes."

"Forget all that, Ginny," said Arthur. "You played an incredible game. We're so proud of you."

Ginny was beaming.

"Harry, what happened with the Golden Snitch?" asked Hermione. "What took you so long to grab it? Everyone in the stadium saw it hovering near the Hufflepuff hoops, except, of course, for the Hufflepuff Seeker who seemed to be looking everywhere else in the stadium except for there. Didn't you see it there, Harry? Why did it take so long for you to fly over and grab it?"

"Well," said Harry as all eyes turned to him. "Yeah, I saw it there. But I wasn't worried. We were so many points ahead that if Hufflepuff had gotten the snitch we would have won the match. So there was really no need for me to grab it."

"But what were you waiting for?" asked Ron.

"Well," said Harry. "I figured the longer the match went on, and the more points Ginny scored, the longer I could watch your little sister's beautiful red hair flying behind her in the breeze. I really like watching it."

Ron grunted. Hermione smiled. Ginny's face turned red again.

Turning to Harry and Hermione, Mr. Weasley said, "Hey, Ron tells me you're both doing a fantastic job teaching. How's it going?"

"It's fun," said Hermione. "I really like to watch the looks on the kids' faces when they've learned something new. When they've performed a new transfiguration properly they get such a look of satisfaction. They're so proud of themselves. And it feels good to know that I helped them achieve that."

"How about Muggle Studies?" asked Arthur, turning to the subject that interested him the most. "How's that going?"

"Well," said Hermione, "the approach I'm taking is to give them some basic information about how Muggles live so the students will understand the differences between how we do things and how Muggles do them. I think it's important that they really understand what Muggles lives are like. But I'm not just emphasizing the differences. I also try to show them how much about us is the same. I want them to understand that witches, wizards and Muggles are all just people. I want the students to feel they have things in common with Muggles so that nobody can ever…" Hermione's voice trailed off. Everyone knew what she meant. As hard as it was to imagine another Voldemort ever trying to come to power, as scary as it was to think about, everyone knew that it was always a possibility. Hermione was trying to do her share to make sure that, if someone ever tried to rally the wizarding world in a campaign of hatred against Muggles, they wouldn't be successful.

"Like just the other day," Hermione said. "A girl in my class was telling a story about how she overheard three six-year-old Muggle girls when they were in first grade after school. The mother said, 'How was school,' and the girls said, 'fine'. The mother said, 'what did you learn' and the girls said, 'nothing'." Everyone at the picnic laughed.

"That's what the students in my class did when they heard the story. They laughed too. Because they felt a connection to those three Muggle girls. They realized that little Muggle girls talk to their parents after school just the same way little witches do. That's what I'm trying to accomplish."

"We're very proud of you," said Mrs. Weasley. "I know some people think that Muggle Studies isn't the most important course, but they're wrong. You're doing very important work."

CRACK.

All of a sudden, Kreacher was standing next to the picnic blanket. "Hi, Kreacher," said Hermione.

"Good morning, everyone," said Kreacher. "The headmistress's elf was sent here to bring the three of you to her office. The headmistress would like to speak to you." Kreacher was gesturing toward Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Harry, Ron and Hermione got up from the picnic blanket. So did Ginny. "Not you," said Kreacher. "Kreacher is only supposed to bring the other three."

"I'm coming," said Ginny simply.

Kreacher shrugged and they all headed up to the castle, leaving the rest of the Weasleys and Angelina to have dessert by the lake.

Soon they were in front of the gargoyle. "Pussycat," said Kreacher, and the gargoyle leapt aside revealing the circular staircase. A moment later they were standing in McGonagall's office. She was sitting behind her desk.

"Thank you, Kreacher," said McGonagall. "That will be all."

"The headmistress said 'thank you'," cried Kreacher. "The headmistress thanked Kreacher. The headmistress is so good to Kreacher."

CRACK. Kreacher was gone.

"Have a seat, children," said McGonagall. "I guess I shouldn't call you 'children' anymore. You're only a few weeks away from graduating. Well, at least three of you are. I see you came also, Ms. Weasley. It's becoming a habit, isn't it?"

Ginny didn't say anything.

"Well," said McGonagall, "after that Quidditch match you played yesterday, I've got nothing to complain about. Gryffindor is lucky to have you on the team. And we've got you for another whole year." The kids were always amazed when they realized how big a Quidditch fan McGonagall was and how much she wanted Gryffindor to win.

"Speaking of next year," McGonagall continued, looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Have you thought about what you're going to do after graduation?"

"Well, the Weasleys invited me to stay at the Burrow," said Harry.

"I promised my mum and dad I'd take a trip with them after graduation," said Hermione. "We're going to visit the United States. We're mostly going to do regular tourist stuff like visit New York, and Disneyworld, but I also want to make contact with some of the wizarding communities there. I've never met a witch or wizard from the United States before, and I think it would be fascinating to learn about the similarities and differences between our communities. But after we get back, I figure I'll go to the Burrow to visit …them." Hermione was looking at Ron, who smiled at her.

McGonagall laughed. "Great," she said. "But I didn't mean 'how are you going to spend your summer vacation.' I mean after that. It's time to start your real lives. Have you thought about what you're actually going to do?"

"Well, you know," said Harry. "I want to try to become an Auror."

"I always assumed I'd work at the Ministry somewhere," said Ron. "I never thought I had it in me to be an Auror, but after…after all the…well, I've started thinking maybe I am cut out to be an Auror after all."

"I've been giving a lot of thought to what I can do that will really make a difference," said Hermione. "After the whole elf thing, you know, how you freed them, and how S.P.E.W. ended up being successful and all that, I've been thinking that maybe I should try to work in the Ministry's Magical Creature's department. You know, helping to protect the rights of all magical creatures. Anyway, that's one thing I'm thinking about."

"That would be a very good choice if you decide that's what you want to do, Hermione. I will personally speak on any of your behalfs to Shacklebolt any time any of you want me to," said McGonagall. "I am confident that should any of you wish to work for the Ministry at any time in any Department you will be welcomed there."

Ginny was starting to feel gloomy again. Eventually the summer would end. Eventually, she would have to leave the Burrow and go back to Hogwarts for her seventh year. And eventually Harry would have to do something else. Maybe he could visit sometimes. Maybe McGonagall would lower the defenses sometimes like she did for George once in a while and Harry could "pop" in for a weekend. But her life would be at Hogwarts, and his life would be… She felt a tear in her left eye.

McGonagall continued. "As I said, you will all be welcomed at the Ministry at any time. But in case you're not in a hurry to get there…." Now McGonagall was looking directly at Harry. "…in case you're not in a hurry to leave Hogwarts. For example, if, perhaps, you were interested in staying at Hogwarts for one more year…." McGonagall turned to look at Ginny, then back to Harry. Ginny felt a little flutter in her belly. So did Harry. "I still haven't hired a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next year. And I happen to be looking at the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this school has seen for many years."

"Do you mean?" said Harry.

"Yes," said McGonagall. "I'm offering you the job. It would be a much bigger job than you've been doing. You would be teaching all the classes. Including, preparing students for their O.W.L.s and their N.E.W.T.s, which incidentally, you still need to pass."

Harry grinned.

"Are you interested?"

Harry couldn't answer. Ginny was snogging him. "Ms. Granger," said McGonagall with mock shock. "Please control yourself. You're in the headmistress's office."

Ginny looked up, and said. "Professor McGonagall, Harry accepts the job."

Harry laughed. "Right, Professor McGonagall. What she said."

Then McGonagall turned to Hermione. "Well, Miss Granger. I've filled in for a few months this year, but now that I'm headmistress, I do not intend to continue teaching transfiguration. I'm going to need a professor to teach all of the transfiguration classes in the fall, including to the 5th, 6th and 7th years. And I don't have to tell you how fine a professor you've become. I think you can see for yourself that you have extraordinary talent as a teacher."

Hermione blushed. "If I taught all of the Transfiguration classes, then who would teach Muggle Studies?"

"Miss Granger," said McGonagall. "It is true that we've never had one professor teach classes in two different subjects. But we've also never had a student who took twelve classes at the same time. I am quite confident that you can handle both."

Ron had been sitting their quietly. Hermione looked at him. The job McGonagall was offering her was perfect. It was unbelievable, actually. She really enjoyed teaching, and she knew she was good at it. But she and Ron wanted to be together as much as Ginny and Harry did. Hermione had told Ginny a few months earlier that Ginny couldn't leave Hogwarts before graduation to be with a boy. Now, how could Hermione give up the chance for the most amazing job she could imagine just to be with a boy. But she didn't want to leave Ron. She didn't know what to say.

McGonagall continued. "Ms. Granger, before you answer me, I would like to speak to Mr. Weasley."

Ron looked up. He knew there were no more openings for Hogwarts professors, and he knew that he wasn't really cut out to be a professor anyway. There was no way McGonagall was going to offer him a job.

"Mr. Weasley, I met with the Board of Governors last night, and we've made a decision. We have a somewhat unusual situation here at Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school. It exists for only one purpose. To serve the needs of children. To educate them. To take care of them. This is a place that exists for the sole purpose of serving the needs of children. And yet… And yet we have this most unusual situation. For many years this place….this place that exists to serve the needs of children has had as its caretaker a man who… well… who… well, there's no easy way to say it. A man who can't stand children. A man who enjoys scaring children, and would love to hurt children if we let him. It has been a most strange situation. I always wondered why Professor Dumbledore kept him here all these years. I never asked him. Professor Dumbledore always had good reasons for the things he did, and I didn't question his decisions. But…I am the headmistress now, and I need to make my own decisions and…there is no way I am going to allow a man who enjoys scaring and hurting children to work at Hogwarts while I am headmistress. So, I met with the Board of Governors last night. We will provide Argus Filch with a very nice retirement package. He will be able to live quite comfortably with Mrs. Norris for the rest of his life. But once this school year is over, Argus Filch will not be at Hogwarts."

"Professor McGonagall?" said Ron. "Are you offering me the job of caretaker?" Ron felt a little strange. With Harry and Ginny staying, and with Hermione being offered her dream job, there was nothing Ron wanted more than the chance for them to all stay at Hogwarts together for one more year. But Harry and Hermione were being offered jobs as professors. The idea of spending a year mopping the hallways while his friends had important jobs as part of the school faculty seemed…well…pretty demeaning. He didn't see how he could do that. Ron didn't want to seem ungrateful. He didn't want Hermione not to get to stay at Hogwarts. He couldn't imagine leaving Hogwarts and not being with Hermione. He didn't know what to think.

"No, Mr. Weasley," said McGonagall. "You know we never really needed Filch to do the cleaning or the repair work or any of the other duties you see him doing. We had house elves to do all that. We still do. Although now they're free elves and we pay them." McGonagall smiled at Hermione. "Filch did all that stuff because he wanted to. I think he did it mostly so he could complain about it. Anyway, Mr. Weasley, I'm not offering you a job cleaning the castle."

Ron breathed a sigh of relief. McGonagall continued.

"Mr. Weasley, I'm not exactly a young witch. As headmistress, I wish to focus my energy on certain areas. For example, the school curriculum. And supervising the instruction of students. There are other responsibilities that I wish to delegate to someone else. Last night, the Board of Governors approved the creation of a new position at Hogwarts, Dean of the School. The Dean of the School will report to the headmistress and have responsibility for the aspects of the school other than the actual classes. For example, all of the elves who do the actual work of taking care of the castle will report to the Dean. The Head Boys and Girls and the Prefects will report to the Dean. The Dean will be responsible for enforcing the school rules, for all discipline. The Dean would have responsibility for all aspects of the school other than the actual teaching. This is a very important job. You would be my right hand man."

Ron couldn't believe his ears. "You would trust me with…"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley. I trust you."

"With enforcing school rules?"

"Mr. Weasley, you've grown a lot over the past year. I have complete faith in your ability to do this job and do it well. If I didn't, I wouldn't be offering it to you."

Ron was having trouble believing what he was hearing. He was used to people being surprised every time he accomplished something. But McGonagall was telling him that she trusted him. Trusted him with the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Trusted him with the students. And she expected him to do well. A few minutes ago he had imagined himself with a mop and bucket cleaning the hallways. Now he was imagining himself in an office, holding meetings, giving instructions. He was feeling really good.

Hermione turned to Ron and said, "Ron, I'm so proud of you…. You'll be a great…"

McGonagall interrupted Hermione, because she had something else to say.

"In case you decide to take this job, Mr. Weasley, and this goes for all of you…" McGonagall looked at all three of them. "If you all take these jobs, in the fall when school begins, you will all be full-time members of the Hogwarts staff. You will not be children. You will be adults. Your job will be to set an example for our students. What I'm trying to say…." McGonagall paused.

"What I'm trying to say is that if you are up to something…"

All four of them looked down at their feet so they wouldn't catch her eye. How did she know, they thought.

"If you are up to something…finish it before graduation. Get it out of your systems now. Do you understand?"

The four of them all looked at each other. They didn't know what to say. They couldn't say "yes," because that would be admitting they were up to something. They looked back down at their feet and squirmed.

McGonagall repeated herself, "Stop looking at your feet. I said do you understand?"

They all looked up at her and nodded.

"Okay then. Now, Mr. Weasley? Do you want the job?"

Ron couldn't answer. It's not that he didn't want to answer. He did. He wanted to accept the job. But he couldn't speak. There was something blocking his mouth. Finally, Hermione stopped snogging him for a second. She looked at McGonagall, and said "he accepts." Then she snogged him some more.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Feathery Bird

In the end, N.E.W.T.s turned out not to be such a big deal. For years, Ron and Harry had been a little nervous knowing that in their seventh years they would have to take these tests that they had heard were going to be so hard. When they first heard about N.E.W.T.s, it seemed like they would be so far in the future. Nothing to really worry about yet. And, after all, O.W.L.s were going to come first, two years before the N.E.W.T.s. By the time they were sixth years, they started to get a little nervous that eventually the time for N.E.W.T.s was going to arrive. But now that they were over, Harry and Ron wondered what they had been worrying about all along. They had finished taking all their N.E.W.T.s, and they were both sure they had done just fine.

For Ron, maybe the tests were easy because he had so much time to study for them. Harry and Hermione had been so busy that Ron had had a lot of free time. Or maybe it was because he had so much more confidence in himself after everything he had been through. In either case, Ron knew that he had learned the material. He walked into the test rooms filled with confidence, and he walked out knowing he had done well on all the tests. As for Harry, maybe it was because he had the best teacher in the entire school as his personal tutor. Or maybe taking tests just didn't seem like a big deal to him anymore, now that he was a professor himself. Whatever the reason, he breezed through his N.E.W.T.s without a problem.

It was different for Hermione, who took every single N.E.W.T. that Hogwarts offered. For her, the tests were especially stressful. It wasn't that she had trouble with them. She knew she had gotten every single question right on every test. But with each test, she seemed to be getting more agitated, more upset, more uncomfortable. When she finished her N.E.W.T. in Arithmancy and had only two tests left to take, she walked out of the test room and went to the Great Hall for lunch, arriving at the Gryffindor table with tears in her eyes. Ron had known for a while that there was something wrong, but now that Hermione was actually crying he felt he needed to say something. Ron put his arm around her at the table.

"Tell me what's wrong, Hermione," he said gently.

Hermione looked up at him with a surprised expression. Ron thought that maybe he had done something wrong. He quickly took his arm off of her. "Sorry," he said.

"No," said Hermione. "Don't be sorry. That was so sweet of you. So considerate. So caring. I liked it."

"Ah," said Ron. "I get it. You were surprised. As usual."

Hermione laughed. So did Ron.

"So what is it, Hermione?" said Ron.

"Well," said Hermione, slowly. "I only have two N.E.W.T.s left."

"I know," said Ron. "That's great. But what's the big deal? You can't possibly be having any problem with any of them. I'll bet you haven't gotten a single question wrong. You know you're going to get Os on all of them."

"I know. It's not that," said Hermione, with a shaky voice, trying not to cry again.

"What is it then?"

Hermione hesitated to answer. Ginny and Harry were both smiling.

"What?" said Ron, looking at the two of them.

"Think about it, Ron," said Ginny. "What do you think Hermione is upset about?"

Ron thought for a second. Then he laughed out loud.

"Don't laugh at me," cried Hermione, half crying and half laughing.

Ron put his arm around her again. "Poor Hermione," he said, using his most gentle voice again.

"That's better," said Hermione, blowing her nose with a tissue.

"So," said Ron, "you're upset because you only have two more tests to take and then you're never going to have any more tests to take again ever?"

"Don't say it like that," Hermione wailed, and she started crying harder.

Ron put his arm back around her and smiled.

"Don't laugh at me," said Hermione, half crying and half laughing again. "I know you all think I'm crazy."

"No one thinks you're crazy," said Ron. "Maybe it's a little bit unusual liking classes and tests as much as you do, but not crazy…well at least not TOTALLY crazy."

"Watch what you say, Ron, or I'll turn you into a French fry," said Hermione.

"You know, Hermione," said Harry. "You may be the best student that's ever come to Hogwarts, but you're not the only one here who really loves to study. There's a first year from Gryffindor in my Defense Against the Dark Arts class who actually reminds me a lot of you."

Hermione just stared at Harry.

"Why are you staring?" asked Harry.

"This student," said Hermione. "Is it a girl?"

"Yes."

"Does she have brown hair?"

"Yes."

"Is her first initial 'M'"?

"Yes."

"Myrna Eldridge?!"

"Yes. She's in your class also, isn't she?"

"Yes," said Hermione. "And I've been staring at her for weeks, trying to figure out who she reminded me of. Now I know!"

Everybody laughed.

"I have a meeting this afternoon with McGonagall," Ron said. "We're going to be choosing the Prefects and the Head Boy and Head Girl for next year."

"Wow. You get to help choose them?" said Harry. "This is serious. You're actually going to be the Dean of the School. This is hard to imagine. Ronald Bilius Weasley, the right hand man to the Headmistress of Hogwarts."

"Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" said Ron.

"So who are you thinking of choosing?" asked Harry.

"It is a very confidential matter. I am not permitted to discuss it until the students are notified. Not even with faculty members. And certainly not in front of sixth-year students." Ron was looking at his sister. Ginny glared at him.

Harry laughed. "Sure, Ron. You're really going to tell us, aren't you?"

"I most certainly am not," said Ron. "You heard McGonagall. She trusts me. I need to take this job very seriously. "

Harry was staring at Ron. Ron sounded so serious, but Harry couldn't tell if he really was or if he was just putting on an act.

"We also need to choose a new Head of House," Ron continued.

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"Well, McGonagall stayed on as head of Gryffindor House during the time she served as temporary Headmistress. And she has stayed on for a few months since she was appointed permanent Headmistress. But she's going to have to give up being Head of House when this school year is over. The Headmistress can't be head of one of the houses. It wouldn't be fair to the other houses. She needs to be totally impartial."

"So who's going to become Head of Gryffindor?" asked Ginny.

"Well," said Ron. "As you know, to be the Head of House, a professor needs to have lived in the house when they were a student. There are only two current faculty members who have lived in Gryffindor."

"Who?" asked Ginny.

"Well," said Ron. "One is our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and the other teaches Transfiguration and Muggle Studies."

Harry and Hermione stared at Ron with open mouths.

"Are you serious, Ron?" asked Ginny. "Harry or Hermione is going to be the Head of Gryffindor House?"

"Who else?" Ron asked.

Hermione and Harry looked at each other. They both really wanted the job. But neither of them wanted to compete with the other for it. If getting the job meant their friend would be disappointed, it just wasn't worth it. At the exact same time, they both said to the other, "You can have it."

As they laughed, Ron interrupted, "It's not up to you guys to decide. The decision will be made by Professor McGonagall and myself."

"You're actually going to pick either Harry or Hermione to be the Head of Gryffindor House?" asked Ginny. "You're going to choose between your best friend and your girlfriend?"

"Come to think of it," said Ron, "maybe that's a bad idea. I think I'd better tell McGonagall to make this decision on her own."

Just then, Hagrid came walking past the Gryffindor table on his way to have lunch at the faculty table. As he passed, he stopped and said to all four of them, "Hey, I want to see you all about something. Do you think the lot of yeh could stop by me hut tomorrow afternoon? Say, at 3 o'clock?"

"Sure, Hagrid," said Harry. "What's it about?"

"Oh, nothin' special," said Hagrid. "Nothin' special. Jus' something. I mean nothin'. Jus' want ter see the lot of you. We can have some tea and treacle fudge and chat. Well, gotta be runnin' along to eat me lunch now. See you later."

As Hagrid walked away, Harry said, "I think he's going to tell us what's under the blankets. He said it would be ready soon a few weeks ago. Maybe, it's ready, whatever it is."

"It's about time," said Ron. "We only have until graduation to be 'up to something'. After that, we need to toe the line, stay on the straight and narrow, follow all the rules."

That evening, they were all sitting in the common room. Hermione was doing some last minute studying for her Ancient Runes N.E.W.T. Harry and Ron were playing Wizard Chess. Ginny was knitting a sweater to give her father for his birthday. It actually was looking like a sweater. "You're getting better at that," said Hermione, looking up from her book for a moment.

"Thanks," said Ginny.

CRACK. Everyone jumped, as George and Angelina appeared in the common room.

"What's up?" said Ron.

"Well," said George. "There was something I wanted to tell you. Well, er, I mean…we wanted to tell you. I sent McGonagall an owl, and she dropped the defenses for me again."

"So, what is it?" said Ginny.

"We're going to have a party," said George. "You're all invited. Want to come?"

"Well, sure," they all said.

"When's the party?" asked Ginny.

"This summer," said George.

"Where will it be?" asked Hermione.

"At the Burrow," said George.

"You came all the way here just to invite us to a party you're having in a few months?" asked Ron.

"Well, sure," said George. "I wanted to make sure you have time to choose a nice outfit to wear, and comb your hair and stuff."

"Huh?" said Ron.

Meanwhile, Hermione and Ginny had noticed the engagement ring on Angelina's finger. They both looked up at Angelina who was grinning. They grinned back at her. Ginny tapped Harry on the arm, and pointed at Angelina's finger. Harry saw the ring and grinned also. Meanwhile, George was still playing with Ron.

"Ron," said George. "I don't want you showing up at my party with messy hair or pants that are too short."

Ron looked around at Ginny, Harry and Hermione. They were grinning, and they seemed to know something he didn't. He looked at them for help.

George continued. "There's going to be lots of dancing at the party, Ron. And I want you to spend some time with Hermione practicing your dancing between now and the party. If you dance with my wife at the party, you better not step on her feet."

"Your wi…." Ron froze, looked at Angelina, then looked down at her hand which she was holding out so Ron could see the ring. "You guys are getting married this summer? Hey, that's great! Congratulations!" Ron jumped up and gave his brother a big hug. Ginny, Harry and Hermione jumped up and pretty soon everyone had hugged George and Angelina and congratulated them.

"This calls for a toast," said Harry. But they didn't have anything to toast with.

George reached into his gown and pulled out a bottle and six glasses. "I came prepared," he said.

Pretty soon the six glasses were filled. Ron held up his glass and said, "To Angelina and George." Everyone clinked their glasses and drank some bubbly wine.

"So, Angelina," said Harry. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into?"

"I have a pretty good idea," said Angelina. "Whenever George doesn't want to do something, he just ignores me. Then when I complain, he says, 'I couldn't hear you. Can't you see I only have one ear?' He uses that 'Poor me, I only have one ear' thing almost every day."

"Do you really do that to her, George?" asked Hermione.

George ignored her.

"George?" said Hermione.

"Oh, sorry Hermione," said George. "I couldn't hear your question. Only got one ear, you know." George pointed to his ear. Everyone laughed.

"So, Angelina, how did it happen?" asked Ginny. "Did George get down on one knee and propose?"

"George?" said Angelina. "Not exactly. It was a bit more exciting than that. We were in the shop closing up. There was a box labeled 'Extendable Ears' on the floor near the counter. George asked me to unpack it and put the Extendable Ears on a shelf. So I opened the box. Inside there were no ears. Just a red ball. I thought it was a little strange finding a red ball in a sealed box of Extendable Ears. As soon as I picked it up, it started to glow. It glowed brighter and brighter. Then it exploded. Not a real explosion. It didn't hurt or anything. It just popped open and there was a piece of parchment floating in front of me. The parchment said, 'Go to the fake wand section.' So I went to the fake wand section of the store, and on the shelf there was a new wand I had never seen before. It was shiny and black. Bigger than any of the others. I picked it up. As soon as I picked it up, it started to pull me. It was actually pulling my arm. Pretty hard. So I went with it. It took me up one aisle and down another until we were standing in front of the Pygmy Puffs. The wand tugged at my arm until it was pointing at the shelf of Pygmy Puffs. As soon as the wand was pointing straight at the shelf, there was a 'pop' and a large piece of parchment appeared floating in front of the shelf. It said, 'I'll be your Pygmy Puff if you'll be mine.' George had been following me around the store. He was standing next to me. I turned to look at him, and he was handing me this ring."

Angelina reached out her hand to show the ring again.

"So what happened next?" asked Ginny.

"I didn't have to think about it," said Angelina. "I looked at George and said, 'yes'. And guess what George did?"

Everyone shrugged.

"He said, 'I couldn't hear you Angelina. Only got one ear, you know.' That time I had to punch him. Then we snogged."

"George, will you take it easy on her?" said Ginny. "You're going to make her crazy."

"Don't worry, Ginny," said Angelina. "George always keeps me laughing. And I can keep him in line if I need to." She pulled out her wand. "I've been practicing a few things."

George interrupted, "She keeps threatening to turn me into a French fry if I don't cut out the ear jokes."

Hermione and Ron looked at each other and laughed. "Angelina, I have a feeling you and I are going to get along great," said Hermione.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and they were standing in front of Hagrid's hut. Before they could knock on the door, Hagrid yanked it open.

"Come in, come in… all of yeh. Hurry up. It's almos' time."

They all looked at each other, and walked into the hut.

"How'd yeh all like a nice spot o' tea. An' some fudge?"

"Sure, Hagrid," they said.

They were all eyeing the pile of blankets in the corner of the hut. After Hagrid had poured five cups of tea, and set down a tray of fudge, he sat down in his massive chair.

"So I want to tell all o' yeh a story. Think back ter the end of las' year. Ter the saddes' day of me life."

"Dumbledore's funeral?" asked Harry.

"Yes," Hagrid continued. "I will never know me a sadder day 'n that. I almost didn' stay fer the funeral. I was too sad. But I needed ter pay me respects to Albus Dumbledore, the greates' man I ever knew. Remember how the funeral ended with the mos' beautiful song yeh ever heard?"

"Fawkes," said Hermione.

"Right," said Hagrid.

"And then Fawkes flew away forever," said Harry.

"Right," said Hagrid. "And wrong."

Everyone looked at him puzzled.

"Fawkes flew away that day, an' I don't think we'll ever see that beautiful bird of Dumbledore's again. That's true. But he did'n fly away from Hogwarts at the end of the funeral."

"Where did he go?" asked Harry. Hagrid ignored him, and continued.

"When the funeral was over, I took me self fer a walk in the forest. I was cryin' me eyes out. You know, kids, Dumbledore was like a father ter me."

"We know," said Hermione.

"Anyway, I could'n bear to go back ter Hogwarts after the funeral. But I knew I had to. So when it got dark that night, I walked me self back to this hut. And when I walked inside, what did I see? Fawkes. Right here. Right in the middle of this table, where that tray of treacle fudge is sittin' right now. Fawkes was sitting there. Jus' wait'n for me.

"I sat down in this chair. Right here. Right where I'm sittin' now. Tears were still streamin' down this face. Me beard was soaking wet. And I jus' looked at that bird. And Fawkes looked at me. The next thing I know, Fawkes is standing right in front of me. Right on the table. Right where me cup of tea is right now. And then I saw a tear. One little tear. And it dripped. Right out of Fawkes's eye, it dripped onto the back of me hand, which was resting on this table. And yeh know what happened? The instant the tear hit me hand, everythin' felt different. I was'n cryin. My heart felt peaceful. I knew everythin' was goin' ter be okay. Fawkes's tear healed me heart.

"Then Fawkes flew off the table to that corner of the room. Right there. Right where that pile of blankets is. Fawkes jus' stood on the floor in the corner of the room lookin' at me. For about a minute. Fawkes jus' looked at me. And then Fawkes jus' took off. Jus' flew out me window. And that was the las' time I think any of us will ever see that bird."

Hagrid got up from the table, and walked over to the pile of blankets. He started picking them up, one at a time, and tossing them in another pile a few feet away. As he picked up the blankets, Hagrid continued:

"But before Fawkes flew away, Fawkes left me somethin'. Right here. Right on this spot."

Hagrid picked up the last blanket. And sitting by itself on the floor in the corner of the hut was a single egg.


	16. Chapter 16 - Buttered Toast

At first, they just stared at the egg. Finally Hermione spoke.

"Are you saying that's a…that's a Phoenix egg?"

"What da yeh think it is, a small bowlin' ball?" said Hagrid.

"But…but…I didn't know Phoenixes lay eggs. They just burn up and are reborn out of their own ashes, don't they?"

"Well, o' course they do," said Hagrid. "But when 's born agin, it's not a new Phoenix. It's the old Phoenix born agin. It has all o' the memories o' all of its pas' lives. Where did yeh think new Phoenixes came from?"

"Well," said Hermione, "I never really thought about it. I guess I assumed that there was only one Phoenix, just Fawkes."

Hagrid laughed. "Well, 's true that a Phoenix is a very rare animal, indeed. Fawkes is the only one I ever saw. Really the only one I ever heard of. But I doubt Fawkes was the only Phoenix in the whole world. And every once in a while, once in a long while, a Phoenix can lay an egg and make a new Phoenix. Every once in a long while. Like maybe ev'ry thousand years. The Phoenix would have ter have a really good reason to lay an egg. But, as yeh can see, a Phoenix can lay an egg."

'Why do you think Fawkes laid an egg now?" asked Harry.

"Well, that's a good question," said Hagrid. "I don' know fer sure. But I think Fawkes needed to go away. I think Fawkes was so loyal ter Professor Dumbledore that Fawkes couldn't bear to be here at Hogwarts without him. But maybe Fawkes thought that Hogwarts needs a Phoenix. To watch over the school and its students. Maybe Fawkes couldn't bear to stay, but also couldn't bear for us not to be safe, so Fawkes decided it was time to lay an egg."

"And you think it's about to hatch?" asked Ginny.

"Any minute now," said Hagrid.

"How do you know?" asked Hermione.

"Well, now," said Hagrid. "I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but in case yeh haven't noticed, I happen ter be pretty good with magical creatures. I jus' have me a way about them. I can't tell you how I know, but I have a pretty good sense that that Phoenix egg is ready ter hatch. "

"Hagrid," asked Ron, "why do you think Fawkes left the egg with you?"

"Well, that's Fawkes's secret. Not sure I'm ever goin' to know the answer. But I think it might be because Fawkes knows how good I am with magical creatures. Knew that the egg would be safe with me. Or maybe it's because Fawkes loves Dumbledore and Fawkes knew I was the person who was the closest to Dumbledore."

The whole time they were talking, no one had taken their eyes off the egg that was sitting alone on the floor in the corner of the hut. All of a sudden, the egg rolled. Just a tiny drop. It rolled so little that no one was positive they had actually seen it roll. It barely moved.

"Did you see it move?" cried Hermione.

"Yeah," said Ron. "I saw it move a drop."

"I thought I did," said Hermione. "But it was such a tiny drop."

All of a sudden, the egg rolled a bit more. Still a tiny drop. But enough that everyone was sure they had seen it move.

"I guess you were right, Hagrid," said Harry. "Looks like it's getting ready to hatch."

The egg started to roll gently back and forth. Then came a gentle tapping sound from inside the egg. "Tap…tap…tap…" The tapping sound grew louder and faster. "TAP..TAP..TAP." Then all of a sudden the egg started to spin. At first slowly, then faster and faster until it was spinning so fast it was a blur. As it spun faster and faster it started to glow. First faintly, then brighter and brighter. Soon it was so bright it was the color of a flame. And then it was a flame. The egg was on fire. And finally the egg burned up and all that was there was a pile of ashes.

"We are abou' ter witness somethin' that we may be the only people who ever saw," said Hagrid. "The birth of a new Phoenix."

Slowly, slowly, rising out of the ashes, was something that looked just like a baby chicken.

"Oh, it's so cute," said Ginny. "It looks just like a baby chick."

"Can we hold it?" asked Hermione.

"I don' see why not," Hagrid replied.

Hermione walked over to the baby Phoenix, kneeled in front of it, and put her hand on the ground. The baby Phoenix waddled towards her and walked onto her hand. Hermione stood up and held the baby Phoenix in her hand for everyone to see, gently stroking it on its head and along the feathers on its back. The little Phoenix cooed gently as Hermione stroked it.

"Can I hold it?" asked Ginny. Ginny extended her hand and put it next to Hermione's. The little Phoenix waddled from Hermione's hand to Ginny's. Ginny stroked the Phoenix gently and it cooed again. "Oh, it's so cute," cried Ginny. Then Hagrid held it gently in his own massive hand. The little Phoenix was barely as big as one of Hagrid's fingers. With the very tip of his pinky, Hagrid gently stroked the little Phoenix, and it cooed for him as well.

"So, what do Phoenix's eat?" asked Harry.

"Well, I really don' know," said Hagrid. "I never actually saw Fawkes eat anythin'."

"How about worms?" said Ginny. "Most birds like worms?"

"I don' know about that," said Hagrid. "A Phoenix isn' just a bird. It's the most special kind of bird there is. It's magical."

"Yeah," said Ron. "I can't imagine Fawkes eating worms."

"Maybe we should give it a French fry," said Hermione with a devilish smile as she pulled out her wand and aimed it at Ron.

"How about if we think of something healthy that a baby Phoenix might actually like to eat?" said Harry. "I know. I'll go up to the castle and get it some warm buttered toast." Harry ran out of the hut.

Ron had been waiting patiently while Hagrid held the baby Phoenix and stroked it. Finally, he said, "my turn," and held out his hand. Hagrid put his hand against Ron's, and the baby Phoenix waddled onto Ron's hand. Ron began stroking the Phoenix's soft feathers and again the baby Phoenix cooed.

"Hey," said Hermione. "What are we going to name it?"

"Well, that's one big job," said Hagrid. "Namin' a bird that's goin' ter live forever. We need to choose a worthy name, one this bird can carry proudly a thousand years from now, long after we are all gone. We need to choose a noble name."

"Fawkes was Dumbledore's Phoenix," said Ginny. "How about Dumbledore?"

"I don't think that's a good name for a Phoenix," said Ron.

"What about Dumbledore's other names?" said Hermione. "His full name was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

They all started saying the different names out loud. Albus, Wulfric and Brian just didn't sound right. But Percival was different. They each said "Percival" out loud several times. They started to nod. It sounded like a good name for a Phoenix. "Percival was a noble knight," said Hagrid. "He was one of King Arthur's knights. One of the knights of the Round Table. I thin' it's a noble name fer a Phoenix."

Just then Harry came back into the hut, holding a plate piled with warm buttered toast.

"Did you bring some toast for Percival?" Ginny asked, smiling.

"For who?" Harry laughed. "Did you guys already name the Phoenix?"

Everyone nodded.

"Percival," Harry said. "That was one of Dumbledore's names. I like it. I think that's a perfect name. Is it my turn yet?" Harry put out his hand next to Ron's. Percival waddled onto Harry's hand. Harry put the plate of toast down on the table and stroked Percival's feathers. Percival cooed again.

"So, Percival," said Harry. "You feeling a little hungry?" Percival looked up at Harry and slowly nodded its little head.

"Huh?" said Harry. "Did you all see that? Did Percival just nod at me?"

"Sure looked that way," said Hagrid.

"What an amazing little bird you are," said Hermione.

Harry picked up a slice of toast and put it next to Percival's beak. Slowly, the little bird started to eat it.

"I think he likes it," said Ginny.

They all watched mesmerized as Percival slowly ate the entire piece of toast.

"So where is Percival going to live?" asked Hermione.

"How about the Gryffindor common room?" suggested Ginny.

"Well," said Hagrid. "Fawkes left the egg here. I thin' that means I'm supposed to take care of Percival. At least until Percival gets a little bigger and can be on its own."

Hagrid put out his hand next to Harry's, and Percival waddled onto Hagrid's huge hand. Hagrid picked up another piece of toast and this time Percival gobbled it down hungrily.

"Wow!" said Ron. "I like this bird. It has one great appetite."

"Yeah," said Hermione. "Reminds me of you. I think maybe I'll start calling you 'Percival'. Maybe I'll call you 'Percy' for short."

"Watch it," said Ron, giving Hermione a stern look. Then he added, "You know, the smell of this toast is making me hungry. I think it's almost dinner time."

"You always think it's almost dinner time," said Hermione. Everyone laughed.

"Hagrid," said Harry. "Thanks for letting us be here to watch Percival being born."

"Yeah, thanks," said the rest of them.

"This was so cool," said Ginny. "Can we come back tomorrow to play with Percival?"

"Yeh kids are welcome here anytime yeh want," said Hagrid.

"Okay, said Hermione. "We'll see you later." And the four of them headed out of the hut, and back up to the castle, leaving Hagrid standing there with a tiny little Phoenix in his massive hand, gently stroking its feathers with the tip of his finger and listening to the Phoenix coo.

At dinner that night, McGonagall walked passed the Gryffindor table and paused for a moment as she passed Harry and Hermione. "I'd like to see you both in my office after dinner," she said. They both nodded to her, and she headed to the staff table.

"What do you think this is about?" asked Harry. Hermione shrugged.

"I think I know," said Ron. "I told McGonagall this morning that I didn't want to be involved in choosing the next head of Gryffindor House."

"What did she say?" asked Harry.

"Not much," said Ron. She smiled sort of mysteriously and said, "I had a feeling you might come to that decision. Don't worry. I have an idea."

"She smiled?" said Hermione. "That doesn't sound so great. McGonagall doesn't smile very much. I'm not sure whether I've ever actually seen her smile."

"You're right," said Ron. "She did seem to be in an unusually good mood when I spoke to her."

Harry changed the subject. "Well," he said, "we solved the mystery of the pile of blankets in Hagrid's hut."

"Yeah," said Ron, "and you know what this means?"

"Yeah," we can get a Phoenix feather," said Harry.

"What exactly do you guys have in mind?" said Hermione. "Are you planning to just walk up to Percival and pluck out one of his feathers?"

Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged. They hadn't really thought about that.

"Phoenix feathers must fall out sometimes," said Harry. "How else would Ollivander have gotten Fawkes's feathers to make the two wands?"

"I don't know," said Hermione, "but Phoenixes live forever. We could end up waiting a really long time for one of Percival's feathers to fall out. Like maybe a thousand years."

"Oh, we'll figure something out," said Harry. "We always do."

After dinner, Harry and Hermione headed to the headmistresses office. When they got to the gargoyle, Hermione said, "kitty," and soon they were walking into McGonagall's office. Dumbledore was in his frame behind McGonagall's desk, and he waved to them when they walked in. Harry and Hermione waved back, just as McGonagall looked up.

"Wha…?" she said. Then she looked behind her and saw Dumbledore. "Oh, hi Albus."

She turned back to Harry and Hermione. "Please have a seat."

Harry and Hermione sat down in the chairs in front of McGonagall's desk.

"So I think you know why I've called you here," she said.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

McGonagall continued. "As I know Mr. Weasley already told you, at the end of this term I will give up being the head of Gryffindor House. Between you and me, I am not looking forward to giving this up. I care a lot about the Gryffindors. And, as you know," she said looking specifically at Harry, "I have a particular interest in the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

Harry nodded. He remembered the first time he had been alone with McGonagall during his first year. He had thought he was going to be punished, maybe even expelled, for flying without permission. Instead, she had brought him to Oliver Wood to play Seeker.

"But," continued McGonagall, "I don't have any choice. For the good of Hogwarts, the headmistress needs to be neutral. I can't be associated with any one particular house. So that means one of you will be the Head of House for Gryffindor next year."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other again.

"But which one? You both would be worthy choices. I have total confidence in each of you. So how do I choose between you?"

Harry and Hermione both shrugged.

"I decided how I'm going to choose," said McGonagall. "I'm going to have the two of you duel for it. Right in front of the whole school tonight. Whoever wins will be the Head of House."

Harry and Hermione both looked horrified.

"We can do it in the Great Hall," McGonagall continued. "You can stand on two ends of the Gryffindor table. Just like Lockhart and Professor Snape did at the first Dueling Club meeting."

Harry and Hermione looked even more horrified.

"Since you are both very advanced, I don't think we should have any limits on the types of spells you can use. Just go at each other with everything you have. Except, of course, no unforgivable curses. This ought to give the students a pretty good show. Whichever one of you sends the other one to the Hospital Wing with greater injuries will be the winner and the head of Gryffindor House. How does that sound?"

Harry and Hermione were so horrified, they couldn't speak. They just stared at McGonagall, their mouths hanging open.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," said McGonagall. "Why are you both staring at me like that? I just outlined what I think is a very good plan for choosing the next head of Gryffindor House and providing some healthy entertainment for the other students. How does this sound to you?"

Harry and Hermione still couldn't speak. They just stared at McGonagall, looked at each other nervously, and then looked back at McGonagall. This time they noticed over McGonagall's shoulder that Dumbledore was sitting in his frame and laughing heartily. They were both puzzled. They looked back at McGonagall.

"Children," said McGonagall. "Do you really believe I'm going to make you duel each other?"

Harry and Hermione, both feeling relieved and a little sheepish, just shrugged. They had never known McGonagall to make a joke before.

"We…we…thought…" they both said together.

"You thought I was a stern, serious witch with no sense of humor?" she said, trying to help them finish their sentence.

"Uhm…" said Harry.

"Well…" said Hermione.

"It's okay," said McGonagall. "I am. Most of the time. But that doesn't mean I don't have a sense of humor. I just choose when to be serious and when to have fun. When I am with students, I choose to be serious. However, when I am alone with fellow faculty members as I am right now…"

She paused, and looked back and forth between Harry and Hermione. "I hope you both understand, you are faculty members now. The students will be looking up to you. What you do when you're alone with your friends or with fellow faculty members is one thing, but when you are in front of students I expect you both to behave in a way that commands their respect."

Harry and Hermione both nodded. They understood. McGonagall had let them see another side of her because they were now going to be her colleagues. But they also understood why McGonagall was always so serious around the students. It made the students have confidence in her. It made them trust her. They realized that the reason why they had trusted McGonagall so much over the years was precisely because of how serious she was. Harry and Hermione for the first time truly understood how their students looked up to them, and how the way they behaved around their students affected how the students viewed them.

"What about…" Hermione started to ask.

"What about choosing a new Head of House?" asked McGonagall.

Hermione nodded.

"Well, you're welcome to duel Harry for the job if you'd like to?" said McGonagall, smiling.

Hermione vigorously shook her head. "No thanks, professor."

"Well, then, I was thinking," said McGonagall. "Why not do it together? We've never had co-heads of houses before, but there's no rule that says we can't. You both seem to work very well together. Would you like to share the job? You can be the Heads of House."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and smiled. It sounded perfect.


	17. Chapter 17 - Parchment

"So the two of you are going to be the Heads of Gryffindor House?" said Neville at breakfast the next morning when he heard the news. "That's so cool. I almost wish I wasn't graduating. Next year at Hogwarts sounds like it's going to be the best year yet."

"I'll make sure McGonagall lowers the defenses to let you apparate in any time you want to visit," said Ron. "I know she seems so serious, but I've gotten to know her pretty well over the past few weeks, and she really can be very funny."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, remembering how McGonagall had made them think they were going to have to duel each other in front of the whole school. "Yeah," said Harry. "She has a great sense of humor, even if it can be a bit sadistic at times."

"Say Ron," said Neville. "Who are you and McGonagall picking for Head Boy and Head Girl next year?"

Ron didn't say anything at first. Then he said, "uhm…I'm not involved in choosing them."

"What do you mean?" said Harry. "You're the new Dean of Hogwarts. The Head Boys and Girls and Prefects will report to you. How can you not be involved in choosing them?"

"Well…err…"

All of a sudden, Hermione interrupted. "Don't you see, Harry? Ron can't be involved in choosing them. Not anymore than he was involved in choosing the Head of Gryffindor."

Harry looked puzzled. So did Ginny. All of a sudden Ginny broke out into a grin.

"Really?! Ron?!" said Ginny. "Am I being considered for Head Girl?"

"I can't say anything," said Ron with a serious look and an official voice. "All I know is that McGonagall said she thought it would be better if I wasn't involved in the selection process."

Ginny just sat there with a big smile on her face. Head Girl, she thought. Harry staying here at Hogwarts. Things just couldn't get better. Well, there was only one thing that would make it better. If they could solve the remaining mystery. School was going to be over in a few weeks, and they'd be leaving on the Hogwarts Express. They were running out of time.

"Hey guys," said Ginny. "How about if we visit Hagrid after breakfast? We haven't been to his hut in a week."

The others nodded.

Harry was carrying a plate of buttered toast as Ginny knocked on the door of Hagrid's hut.

"Come in," cried Hagrid's booming voice.

As they walked in, Percival, who was perched on a ledge in a corner of the hut, spotted the toast and flew over to Harry, landing on his arm.

"Hey, little bird," said Harry. "Want some toast?" Harry fed the buttered toast to Percival who gobbled it up appreciatively.

"Percival isn't such a little bird anymore," said Hermione. "Percival is almost as big as Fawkes. And covered with feathers!"

Hermione seemed just a little too excited when she said the word "feathers." "Well, o' course Percival is covered 'n feathers," said Hagrid. "That's wha' happens to birds. Why are you so interested in feathers all o' a sudden?" said Hagrid, suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," said Hermione. "I was just commenting."

"Percival looks like a pretty good flyer," said Ron. "Has Percival flown outside of your hut yet?"

"No, not yet," said Hagrid. "I been keepin' a pretty close eye on Percival. This is one special bird, yeh know."

"We know," said Harry.

"Percival grew pretty fast," said Hermione. "Percival seems almost like an adult Phoenix, and it's only been two weeks since Percival hatched. Where do you think Percival is going to live? In your hut?"

"Well, I don' really know," said Hagrid. "But I have a feelin' Percival knows."

Everyone looked at Hagrid.

"I have a way with animals," said Hagrid. "And I have a strong feelin' this bird has a plan."

Harry was stroking Percival's feathers while Percival kept gobbling one piece of toast after another. Every once in a while, Harry would take one of Percival's feathers carefully between his fingers and very gently pull on it, just testing. Finally, Hagrid noticed.

"Wha' are yeh doin' to that bird's feathers?"

"Oh, nothin'," said Harry. "Just stroking them."

Hagrid grunted.

Just then Percival finished the last piece of buttered toast. Percival jumped from Harry's hand and flew across the hut, landing on Hagrid's hand. Then Percival leaned forward, its neck stretching forward until its beak was almost touching Hagrid's nose. For a few seconds, Percival looked deeply into Hagrid's eyes. Then Percival's head twisted to the side and the soft feathers on top of Percival's head were gently stroking Hagrid's beard.

"What's Percival doing?" said Ginny.

Hagrid paused for a moment, a tear in his eye. Then he answered Ginny. "I think Percival's sayin' goodbye."

A moment later, Percival jumped out of Hagrid's hand and flew out the hut's open window. All five of them ran out the door of the hut and looked up, watching Percival soaring through the sky. Higher and higher Percival soared, then Percival swooped down into a dive almost crashing into the ground. The Percival broke out of the dive and soared high into the sky again.

"Percival's playing!" cried Hermione.

"Firs' time this bird ever got to really enjoy flyin'," said Hagrid. "This is what you call 'a bird spreading its wings.'"

This time, Percival climbed high into the sky and soared over the top of Hogwarts castle disappearing over the far side. A few moments later, Percival came swooping from around the left side of the castle, passed in front of them, and disappeared around the other side. For almost five minutes, Percival flew in circles around the castle, swooping around the various towers, up and down and around, flying faster and faster. All five of them kept cringing as it looked as if Percival was about to crash into something, but Percival flew gracefully and skillfully, coming close to the stone walls of the castle but never touching them, as if Percival had been flying for years and not just for a few minutes.

Finally, Percival slowed down, and started circling back and forth next to one side of the castle. Eventually, Percival was circling around slowly in front of one particular window. Back and forth and around, flying slowly in front of the window, never leaving it.

"What window is that?" asked Ginny.

"Thas' the Headmistress's office," answered Hagrid.

All five of them stood there, staring at the bird flying gently outside of McGonagall's office. A few minutes later, the window slid open and McGonagall appeared in front of the window leaning slightly outside. She stretched out her arm and opened her hand until it lay flat. Without wasting a second, Percival landed on McGonagall's hand. A moment later, McGonagall brought Percival into her office and shut the window.

"Well, whatter ya know!" said Hagrid, beaming. "It looks like Percival 's goin' ter take the place o' Fawkes. Our new headmistress has herself a Phoenix. Percival's not goin' ter leave Hogwarts after all."

The four friends had happy smiles on their faces. They were glad Percival was going to be staying at Hogwarts. Extra specially glad.

They were in the Gryffindor common room, and Ginny was not pleased.

"Come on guys," she said. "You're all members of the Hogwarts staff. You two are professors," she said looking at Harry and Hermione, "and you're the dean," she said looking at her brother. "You go to McGonagall's office all the time. How hard can it be for you to sneak out with one, little feather?"

"Ginny," said Ron. "McGonagall trusts us. We all have important responsibilities. We can't do any sneaking in her office. Period."

"But Ron," said Ginny. "She basically told you guys to get this stuff out of your systems before the end of this year. Next year you need to set an example. But you still have two weeks left this year for mischief."

"Maybe, Ginny," said Hermione. "But breaking some rules is one thing. Sneaking around in McGonagall's office is another. We can't do that. She trusts us."

Ginny groaned. "But we're this close. We need to get a Phoenix feather. Let's come up with a plan."

"Why bother?" said Harry with a twinkle in his eye. "Our plans never really work, anyway. But I have a feeling this will work out one way or another."

CRACK

Kreacher appeared.

"Good evening, Master Harry."

"Just 'Harry'. Please, Kreacher."

"Kreacher forgot. Sorry, mas… Sorry, Harry."

"Hi, Kreacher," said Ron, Ginny and Hermione.

"Kreacher heard the good news. Kreacher heard that you will all be at Hogwarts next year. Kreacher is happy. Kreacher would have missed all of you."

All of a sudden Harry had an idea.

"Kreacher?"

"Yes, mas… yes, Harry."

"You're good at getting things."

"Kreacher is, yes."

"Could you get something for us?"

"Kreacher would get you anything."

"Do you know Percival?"

"You mean the headmistress's Phoenix? Of course. It lives in the headmistress's office. Just like Fawkes used to."

"Kreacher," said Harry. "Do you think you might be able to get us one of Percival's feathers? Just a small one. One that fell out already. Or maybe a little one that Percival wouldn't even notice. What do you think?"

Kreacher didn't answer. Almost before Harry finished speaking, there was another CRACK, and Kreacher was gone.

The friends all looked at each other. Before any of them could speak there was another CRACK and Kreacher was back. In his hand was a feather.

It was midnight. They were huddled under the invisibility cloak, their invisible legs sticking out the bottom, the Marauder's Map in Harry's hand, making their way through the castle. Pretty soon they were in the Chamber of Secrets, down the tunnel on the right side, standing in front of the second door for the fifth time. They had decided to just go back to the same door they had entered last time, hoping it would still work. They really didn't want to have to start from the beginning flying back and forth between the two doors. They realized they were in luck, as they knelt in front of the door and read the inscription on the bottom.

 _Come in._

Ginny pushed the door, and it opened easily. They entered the room, and it looked just like it did the first time. A small, bright room with white walls, a white floor and a white ceiling. They looked at the white wall in front of them, the one on which the riddle about King David had appeared.

"Do you think we'll get the same riddles again?" asked Ron.

Before anyone could respond, bright red letters appeared on the white wall opposite them.

NOT SO LUCKY

Ron groaned. "Okay," said Harry. "We're ready for our riddle."

The words disappeared, and the invisible hand began writing slowly on the wall in black.

 _How can you add eight 8s to get the number 1,000?_

They stared at it.

"Come on, Hermione," said Ron. "You're the best at math."

"Well, we're going to have to make numbers out of 8s that add up to 1,000," said Hermione. "Like 8, 88, 888. Let's start by figuring out how many numbers are in the answer."

"How do you suggest we do that?" asked Ron.

"That's easy," said Hermione. "The numbers are all going to consist of just 8s. That means they will all of an 8 in the one's place. And we know they need to add up to 1000. 1000 has a zero in the one's place. So let's see how many 8s we need to add together before there's a zero in the one's place."

Everyone was staring at Hermione.

"Don't you guys understand what I mean?" she said. "Look. Add 8 plus 8. What does that give you?"

"16," the rest of them said together.

"That's right," said Hermione. "It doesn't matter if you add 8 +8, 88+8, 88+88. You always start by adding the numbers in the ones place. And two 8s in the ones place will always add up to 16. And if you add up the one's place and end up with 16, you need to put a 6 at the bottom in the ones place and carry the 1. So your answer will have a 6 in the one's place. We need our numbers to add up to 1,000, which will leave us with a zero in the one's place. So we know it can't be just two numbers that we add. Two 8s in the ones place will always add up to leave us with a 6 in the one's place."

"Okay," said Ginny. "Let's try three numbers."

"I did already," said Hermione. "What's 8 + 8 + 8?"

"That's 24," said Ginny.

"Right," said Hermione. "Which means if we add together three numbers that have an 8 in the one's place, the one's place will add up to 24. Our answer will have a 4 in the one's place, and we'll need to carry a 2. We need our answer to have a zero in the one's place, so it can't be three numbers."

"Four 8s add up to 32," said Harry.

"Exactly," said Hermione. "That would leave our answer with a 2 in the one's place."

"Five 8s add up to 40," said Ron.

"Exactly!" said Hermione. "That's what we need. If we add up five numbers that end with an 8, we'll have a zero in the one's place and a 4 to carry. That works. We need a zero in the one's place. And we know it can't be six numbers. Six 8s add up to 48, which ends with an 8. It can't be seven. Seven 8s add up to 56, which ends with a 6. Eight 8s add up to 64, which ends with a 4. It's got to be five numbers. We're looking for five numbers that are made up of 8s and that add up to 1,000."

"But which five?" said Ron.

"That part's easy," said Hermione. "We know we can't use 8,888, because that's more than 1,000."

"Right," said Harry.

"So the only numbers we can use are 8, 88 and 888. And we know we need to use exactly one 888."

"Why?" said Ginny.

"If we don't use an 888, the biggest number we could use is 88. Using eight 8s, we could make four 88s. But four 88s adds up to only 354. We need to get to 1,000, and we can't do that with just 88s, so we'll need to use at least one 888. But we can't use two 888s. Two 888s add up to 1,776, which is more than a thousand. So our answer will use just one 888."

"Okay," said Ron. "What about the rest of the numbers we need to add up to 1,000?"

"This part is simple," said Hermione. "How about if one of you takes a crack at it?"

"Well," said Harry. "888 uses three 8s. We need to use eight 8s. So our answer will use five more 8s."

"Correct," said Hermione.

"And," said Harry, "we figured out that our answer will have to be five numbers. 888 is one number. So we need four more numbers."

"Correct," said Hermione. "You're almost there."

"So we need to make four numbers out of five 8s?"

"You are there," said Hermione.

"There's only one way to make four numbers out of five 8s," said Harry. "one 88 and three 8s."

"Congratulations," said Hermione. "You solved it."

"Let's check," said Ginny. "We need to add up 888, 88, 8, 8 and 8. What's 888 plus 88?"

They all stared at each other.

Hermione groaned. "It's 976," she said.

"Thanks," said Ginny. "Okay, now we need to add three 8s. 976 plus 8 equals 984. 984 plus 8 equals 992. And 992 plus 8 equals 1,000. We solved it."

Hermione turned to the wall. "The answer is 888 plus 88 plus 8 plus 8 plus 8."

Immediately, the white wall in front of them dissolved and they were standing in the larger purple room. "Oy," said Ron. "I forgot, there's more. Salazar Slytherin is making us work for this. My head is still spinning from the math problem."

"Ron," said Hermione. "That problem wasn't all that hard. I admit, it was a little challenging, but it wasn't super hard."

"For you, maybe."

"Ron, what exactly were you doing growing up when you were supposed to be studying math?"

"Er… well… I…"

"Come on, Ron," said Hermione. "Spit it out."

Well… er… I…."

"He was eating," said Ginny.

Everyone laughed.

"When we were all doing our math homework at the Burrow, Ron was always sneaking down to the kitchen for snacks," Ginny continued.

"Well, I was hungry," said Ron. "You can't expect a guy to do math homework on an empty stomach."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Come on," said Harry. "It looks like this is going to be a long night. Let's move on."

They walked forward into the newly opened portion of the now-purple room until they were standing in front of the far wall. "Okay, we're ready," said Harry.

The invisible hand wrote slowly on the wall in black.

 _A man tells his two children to race their horses to a faraway city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose horse gets there LAST will win. The children get on their horses, but neither wants to get to the city first, so they just wander on their horses aimlessly for days going nowhere. They realize that this could go on forever since neither of them wanted to get to the city first. Finally, the children ask a wise person for advice. Upon receiving the advice, they jump on the horses and race to the city as fast as they can. What was the advice?_

The four friends stared at the wall, silently, thinking. All of a sudden, Ron laughed out loud. "This is an easy one," he said.

"Not to me," said Hermione. "What's the answer?"

"Well," said Ron. "I'll give you a hint. They raced to the city because whoever got their first was going to inherit the fortune."

"No," said Hermione. "The fortune goes to whichever of them gets their last."

"Nope," said Ron. "Read the puzzle again."

Hermione looked at the wall again, and then she laughed also. "It doesn't say the one who gets their last wins. It says the one whose horse gets their last wins. So all they have to do is…"

"Switch horses!" Harry exclaimed. "Then, if they get there first, their horse will get their last. Nice work," said Harry to Ron, as the purple wall in front of them dissolved and they found themselves standing in the middle of the even larger shiny gold room. They walked forward until they reached the far wall. It was gold and blank.

"I think this is the last puzzle," said Harry.

YOU'RE RIGHT

The letters were dark green.

"Okay," said Ron, "give us the puzzle."

The invisible hand wrote slowly on the wall in black.

 _7 D of the W_

 _12 M in a Y_

 _365 D in a Y_

Again, they stared at the wall, thinking. "The letters must stand for words," said Ginny.

"The first one looks familiar," said Hermione. "7 D of the W."

"Those numbers all look familiar," said Ron. "7, 12, 365."

Harry laughed. "You got it?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah," said Harry. "This is an easy one. Think about the number 7. What are there seven of?"

"Seven days of the week!" cried Ginny. "D of the W means Days of the Week."

"And 12 months in a year!" cried Hermione.

"Yup, and 365 days in a year," concluded Harry.

Even as Harry spoke, the wall dissolved and they were once again standing in the gigantic orange room. They walked together to the far wall. Slowly, Harry reached into his cloak and drew out Percival's feather.

"So where should I rub?" asked Harry.

Words appeared in brown on the wall.

Try rubbing here

Harry reached with the feather to rub the letters. As the feather brushed the orange wall, the wall dissolved and the room doubled in size. For the first time, they found themselves standing in the middle of a gigantic red room. They looked to the far end of the room where something that appeared to be a table was standing. Immediately, all four of them broke out into a run heading across the room as fast as they could.

Moments later they were standing in front of a simple, brown, wooden table with four legs. In the middle of the table lay a scroll of parchment wrapped with a red ribbon tied in a neat, little bow.


	18. Chapter 18 - Albus Dumbledore

For a moment, they just stared at it. Then Harry reached forward and picked it up. He untied the bow, unrolled the parchment, and spread it on the table. The four friends gathered around and looked at it. It was a long letter, handwritten in black ink. The handwriting was familiar to them. And it wasn't the handwriting of Salazar Slytherin. Their eyes all headed directly to the bottom of the letter, which was signed "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

They read the opening of the letter. A chill went down their spines as they realized that Dumbledore had written a letter just for them. Silently, they all read the letter together.

Dear Harry, Hermione and Ron:

If I'm not mistaken, Ginny is with you too. Greetings to you as well, Ginny.

I am writing this letter in the evening. Harry, in a few hours, you and I will go on a trip together. We are going to search for and, I hope, destroy the second horcrux. I am fairly certain that later tonight I will be killed at the hand of Severus Snape. This letter will be my final words to all of you. If my guess is correct, you will find it about a year from now.

If you are reading this, as I am confident you are, then all has unfolded as I hoped it would. Voldemort is dead. Harry, you succeeded in the seemingly impossible task I set for you, destroying all the remaining horcruxes, including the final horcrux that I have not revealed to you. You succeeded in destroying the piece of Voldemort's soul that you have carried within your own precious body all of these years. And you survived.

And Harry, I am also confident that you will not have succeeded in this task on your own. A wizard with the power of Voldemort could never be destroyed by only one person. It will have taken a group of people, working together, each person making their own unique contributions, to bring about this result. In fact, Harry, if my guess is correct, after you impaled Tom Riddle's diary with the basilisk fang in this very chamber, you will not have actually destroyed another horcrux with your own hand. Rather, I am confident that each piece of Voldemort's soul will have been destroyed at the hand of a different person. That is as it should be.

Harry, I am truly sorry that I could not share with you everything I knew. The secrets that I kept, I kept for what I believed were good reasons. I have asked your forgiveness in the past for having kept secrets from you. And yet I continued to keep information from you when I believed it was necessary.

I know that Professor Snape will have revealed to you at the appropriate time that you contained the final piece of Voldemort's soul, and that you needed to die yourself in order for Voldemort to be destroyed. This is what I told Professor Snape.

Yes, Harry, I know that Voldemort's curse will not fully kill you. I know you will have the choice of reclaiming your life, returning to your friends, and living out your days in peace. And I am confident that you will have made that choice. But I have not revealed this to Professor Snape, and he will not have revealed this to you. It causes me great pain to know that I will make you suffer the agonizing decision to lay down your own life to save the lives of your friends and to save the world from the most terrible wizard in history. I do not want to make you suffer in that way. But, Harry, I know you. And I know that you will have made the decision to sacrifice your own life for your friends. And the love in your heart that you will have shown by that act of courage will have protected all of the people at Hogwarts just as your mother's love protected you so many years ago. I must give you the opportunity to show that love even though I know the choice for you will be agonizing.

I do not know what fate will have befallen Professor Snape. If he has survived, I have left for Professor McGonagall sufficient evidence to allow her to clear his name and prove that he was loyal to me and not to Voldemort. However, unfortunately, I suspect that Voldemort is likely to have made a serious error and concluded incorrectly that Professor Snape is the true owner of the Elder Wand. If Voldemort has made that error, then at the time you are reading this Professor Snape will be dead. If Snape has died, Harry, I truly hope he shared some of his secrets with you before he died. If he did not, then those secrets will have died with him because I promised him that I will not reveal them. But please know this. Severus Snape was a good man. He was an honorable man. He was a brave man. He always protected you. He was a hero. Always remember him that way.

If I am correct, you will have obtained all three of the Deathly Hallows, but you will not have kept two of them. I trust that you had the wisdom to understand their danger, and that you have hidden or destroyed them. You are a wise young man, Harry, wiser in many ways than this old wizard.

Hermione, I believe that in the aftermath of the wizarding war you will finally have been successful in your efforts to free the Hogwarts house elves. You are a brave young woman with a good heart and a sharp moral compass. You saw right from wrong long before those of us much older than you could see it. We of many years have much to learn from idealists like you who see the world not only as it is, but also as it should be.

Ron and Ginny, always be proud of the family you come from. As I know you both realize, in the end money is not what is important. Your parents are good, brave, noble spirits, two of the finest people I have ever known. And you may not have known this, but your mother can cast one mean spell. I have no doubt that your parents and brothers will have fought bravely and with distinction in the final battle against Voldemort. I sincerely hope that all of them will have survived.

At that, Ron and Ginny both got choked up. Tears formed in their eyes as they continued reading.

I assume you are all wondering why I have hidden this letter to you in this manner in the Chamber of Secrets. My young friends, after you discovered this chamber four years ago, I was puzzled as to why this room was known as the Chamber of Secrets. The only secret I was aware of was the basilisk, which is a single secret. Over the past four years, I have spent many hours searching this chamber using all the means at my disposal to see if I could discover another secret. If Salazar Slytherin had left other secrets behind, I believe I would have found them. I am not sure how the chamber got its name, but I am confident there are no other secrets here.

Knowing you children as I do, I am sure that once Voldemort is defeated you will be looking for other adventures. And I know your curiosity will lead you to start wondering the same thing I did. And I know you will not rest until you answer the question. So I decided to leave a little treasure hunt behind for you. We have all been through so much pain and suffering. I decided that, as a farewell present, I would leave you with one more adventure to share together. I hope you enjoyed it.

Always remember how you defeated Voldemort. Your magic is not more powerful than his. His magic was more powerful than all of your magic combined. The reason you will have won this war is because you have several non-magical powers that he does not have.

First, you have the power of courage. Voldemort does not. He is driven only by fear, especially the fear of death. He has devoted his entire life to the hopeless quest for immortality. You cherish your lives, as well you should, but you understand that there are things in the world even more important than your own lives.

Second, you have the power of love. It is the strongest power on earth. Voldemort cannot even begin to understand it.

Finally, you have the power of friendship. You will only have succeeded in this task because you put your trust in each other. Voldemort trusts no one. Therefore, he is always alone. People with true friends are never alone.

As you travel on in life, always remember the power of friendship, the power of love, and the power of courage. They will serve you well throughout your lives. And, although I know I am repeating myself, I want to remind you once more of two important things. First, it is not our abilities that show who we truly are. It is our choices. And second, please always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.

I know all of you will have suffered in the fight against Voldemort. And Harry, you have suffered in many different ways for many years. No person, especially young persons like yourselves, should have to suffer this way. My wish for all of you is that you live long, comfortable, successful, happy, lives in a world free of fear.

Finally, I have a wish for myself. Upon my death later this evening, part of me will remain in a portrait in my office. That part of me will have my memories up until the moment of my death. But, although I am confident how events will unfold, I will not know for sure anything that happens after my death. So please do an old wizard one last favor. I should be most grateful if, when you have found this letter, you bring it to my office, show me that you have found it, sit down for a while, and tell me the tale of the adventures you will have gone through after I leave you tonight.

Yours,

With great affection and respect,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

They read the letter in silence, and upon finishing it they remained silent for what felt like a long time, lost in their own thoughts. Slowly, the magnitude of what this all meant dawned on all of them. They realized that on that fateful evening one year earlier, on what he knew was going to be the last night of his life, as he was about to embark with Harry on a terribly dangerous mission, Dumbledore had been thinking about one thing. Them. He had not only taken the time to write them a long letter leaving with them his final thoughts, but he had taken the time to make them a treasure hunt for them to enjoy long after his death.

Even when he had held doubts about Dumbledore, Harry had always believed that Dumbledore cared about him deeply. All of them knew that Dumbledore cared about his students. But the realization that he had spent the last evening of his long life leaving a special, final gift for the four of them touched their hearts so deeply.

They were also in awe as to how accurate Dumbledore's predictions were about the events that transpired after his death. How could he have seen so clearly all the things that would happen? Harry was especially struck by Dumbledore's prediction that none of the other horcruxes would be destroyed by Harry's hand. Harry had never thought about it that way before. He went through each horcrux in his mind, and he realized that, indeed, each horcrux had been destroyed at the hands of a different person. They had been destroyed by Ron, Hermione, Neville, Crabbe, and by Voldemort. After Riddle's diary, none had been destroyed by Harry himself. How could Dumbledore have known?

Harry knew he would never truly sort out in his head his feelings about Severus Snape. He was glad that Snape's secret had not died with him. The memories in the pensieve had explained a lot. Just before he died, Snape had asked Harry to look at him so in his final moment Snape could gaze one last time into Lily's eyes. The best Harry could understand was that Snape must have loved him in some way because of his love for Lily, and at the same time hated him in some other way because of his feelings about James. He understood that Snape had been a brave man, that he had protected Harry, and that without Snape's help the war against Voldemort would not have been won.

Finally, Ron broke the silence.

"Wow. He actually left us a treasure hunt?"

"Yeah," said Hermione, with a tear on her eye. "On the night he knew he was going to die."

Ginny turned to Harry. "Dumbledore really loved you Harry. You know that, don't you?" Harry couldn't speak. He just nodded, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Calico," said Hermione. A moment later, the four friends were on the top of the circular staircase at the door to the headmistress's office. To their surprise, McGonagall was standing in the doorway in her nightgown.

"I've been waiting up for you," she said. "You're here to see him?"

They all nodded.

"Come in," said McGonagall. "He's waiting for you. I left four butterbeers on my desk. Stay for as long as you'd like. It's two o'clock in the morning, and I'm going to bed. Good night."

McGonagall winked at them and walked out of the room. They entered the office together and walked over to McGonagall's desk, looking up at Dumbledore, who was sitting in his portrait looking down at them. Harry held up the parchment and showed it to Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled at them.

"I knew you would never give up until you found it," said Dumbledore. "I'm so proud of all of you. Now sit down and tell me a story. Tell it to me slowly. Don't leave anything out. I love a good adventure story."

They all sat down on the couch looking up at Dumbledore's sparkling blue eyes, feeling exhausted but happy. It was a very long story. When McGonagall woke up the next morning, the four friends were still there, curled up asleep on the couch. Dumbledore was sitting in his portrait with a peaceful look of contentment on his face watching over them.

The End

A/N Except there's an Epilogue coming.


	19. Chapter 19 - Epilogue - 19 Days Later

Graduation was over. The Weasleys and the Grangers had all shown up for the ceremony which was held on the lawn outside the castle on a beautiful June day. They had cheered for Harry, Hermione and Ron as they each walked up to receive their diploma from McGonagall. Ginny hooted for all of them. When Harry received his diploma, to his embarrassment his fellow students had broken out into a short chant of "Ha...rry! Ha…rry!"

That was yesterday. Now, all the families had gone home. The only ones left at Hogwarts were the seventh years who had just graduated. They had gotten to spend one final night at Hogwarts after graduation before riding back to London on the Hogwarts Express. They had had the option of leaving the previous day with their families, but almost all of the students were looking forward to going home on the Hogwarts Express one last time. Harry, Ron and Hermione had all chosen to stay, and Ginny had stayed with them.

Their bags were packed, and in a couple of hours they would be leaving. The four friends would all be back again in the fall. Unlike the other seventh years, Harry, Hermione and Ron weren't leaving Hogwarts for good. But still, they knew things were changing for them. They were leaving today with their fellow students for the last time. When they returned in the fall they would be full members of the faculty and staff. Things would be different. They felt that when they got on the Hogwarts Express they would really be leaving their childhoods behind and embarking on a new stage of their lives. It made them feel excited and a little sad at the same time.

Harry was walking along the edge of the lake. He finally reached his destination. He was standing in front of a medium-sized, white block of stone, resting under an oak tree a few feet from the lake. Harry stood there for a moment, reading the words etched into the stone:

Here lies Severus Snape (1960-1998)

Professor and Headmaster

of the

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

He sacrificed his life so we could be free

Harry realized he was standing just a few feet from the place where his father had once tormented Snape. Two years ago, Harry had felt so haunted by that memory of his father. Today he felt at peace. A small field of yellow wildflowers was growing next to the lake. Harry plucked a single yellow flower and walked over to Snape's gravestone with it. He placed the flower gently on top of the gravestone, looked at it for a moment, and whispered, "Rest in peace." Then he walked on.

Ginny, Ron and Hermione were waiting for him on the other side of the lake. "Okay," said Harry when he arrived. "We have one last stop."

A few minutes later, Hermione was knocking on the door of Hagrid's hut. "Come in," boomed Hagrid's voice. As soon as they entered, Fang was licking their faces one after another until they were all wet. "Down, boy," said Hagrid. Fang trotted over to the fireplace, where he curled up and promptly fell asleep.

"Yeh all here ter say goodbye?" said Hagrid.

"Well, it's not really goodbye," said Hermione. "We'll be back in a few months."

"I know," said Hagrid, "but fer three of yeh this is the end of one thing and the beginnin' of another. Seven years ago, yeh were all such little runts. And now look at yeh. Yeh 're all grown up. And 'arry. Yeh was jus' a one-year-old pup when I firs' held yeh in my arms. An' yeh were a wide-eyed little thing when I firs' told yeh about yeh bein' a wizard. And now look at wha' yeh accomplished. Look at what all of yeh accomplished. I couldn' be any prouder of yeh if yeh were my own children. I love all of yeh." With that Hagrid wrapped his gigantic arms around all four of them and held them so tightly they almost suffocated, while he began to weep such gigantic tears that their hair, faces and clothes, already damp from Fang, were now so soaking wet they felt like they were in a swimming pool. Finally, before they actually suffocated, Hagrid let go. Immediately, he started bawling a second time, wrapped his arms around them again and gave them an even tighter hug. Somehow they survived.

When they finished gasping for air and had recovered from Hagrid's sweet embrace, Hermione and Ginny each gave Hagrid a kiss on his gigantic, hairy cheeks. "Wha's the matter, boys?" said Hagrid with a smile. "Don' I get a kiss from yeh?" They looked at each other, shrugged, and kissed Hagrid on his cheeks. "Be good, kids," said Hagrid. "Don' get into any trouble, and I'll see yeh soon."

"Bye, Hagrid," they said, and headed back up to the castle.

They were sharing a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. "Remember the first time we met?" asked Hermione.

"Sure," said Ron. "I think it was in this compartment. You were a big know-it-all."

"Watch it," said Hermione. "I can still turn you into a French Fry."

"I remember the first time you and I met," said Harry turning to Ginny. "You took one look at me, and ran right out of the room." Ginny blushed, and curled up next to Harry to take a nap.

The witch with the trolley came by their compartment. Looking hungrily at the packages of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Licorice Wands, and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Ron reached into his pocket and then realized he didn't have any money with him. "That's okay," said Ron looking a bit glum. "I don't need anything."

"Forget that," said Harry to Ron. Turning to the witch, Harry said, "I'll take everything on your cart."

"Everything?" said the witch.

"Yup," said Harry. "Everything. We rid the world of Voldemort. We're in love. And we're on summer vacation. I think we deserve a whole bunch of treats."

No one argued with that.


End file.
